Something Just Like This
by xstrawberrysugar
Summary: Dove is sent to Japan to live with her Aunt after getting into too much trouble & being arrested back home in the States. She starts at Ouran Academy & meets the Host Club boys, becoming best friends with Honey & falling fast for the Hitachiin Twins. Will the boys keep her out of trouble, or will she turn their lives upside down? Rated M for safety.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:** Hello I'm Aurora! I recently just finished binge watching all of Ouran Host Club on Netflix & I fell absolutely in love (and admittedly a little obsessed) with the Hitachiin Twins. I started reading a bunch of Hikaru/Kaoru fanfics and was inspired to write my own with a little twist. Just so you have some backstory before you start reading, my personal opinion of the Twins is that their feelings for each other are definitely more than brotherly, but I don't think they have those feelings completely figured out yet, or that they're 100% gay either, as they've shown interest in girls. They had an interesting dynamic with Haruhi & seemed to both have a crush on her while also loving each other at the same time. However, Haruhi belongs with Tamaki, & is also way too innocent & doesn't have the right personality to be in a taboo relationship with two guys at once. Don't get me wrong, I like Haruhi, but she is completely wrong for the twins. Hikaru & Kaoru need a girl who they could keep as their toy & share with each other who would also be okay with sharing each of them with the other. So I created my OC, Dove, and decided to write her into Ouran. The story will start a little before the first episode & will loosely follow the plot of the show while of course adding in much more about Dove, the Hitachiin Twins, & their relationship (and the Twins will obviously be falling for Dove, rather than Haruhi). Bare with me through this first chapter, it's pretty long because I wanted to introduce Dove and set up the story. I hope you enjoy, & please let me know what you think about the story & about Dove & sorry for ranting!

 **Rating:** This story is rated T, for mild language, mentions of alcohol & marijuana, and light adult themes. May be changed to M later, if necessary.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Ouran Host Club, or any of the characters or plots from the show. The only thing I own is Dove & any plots of hers that I created.

* * *

If for some reason you were in the United States, on the east coast, in the state of Virginia and you were to look up at the sky on Saturday March 31st at 9am you would see a large plane, headed to the other side of the world. And on that plane, pressed up against the small window next to her watching the only world she ever knew get farther and farther away was a small fifteen year old girl named Dove. She took in a deep breath and sighed, watching the blue sky and the disappearing buildings as she wondered how this had become her life.

Okay so maybe she wasn't exactly clueless as to how this happened. It hadn't been a complete surprise to her when her mom had finally snapped and told her that her latest screw up had been the last straw and that she was being sent to Japan to live with her Aunt. In fact, each and every time Dove did something reckless or got herself into some kind of trouble that was exactly what her mom threatened her with. _"One more time Dove,"_ her mom would always say, _"just one more time and I'm sending you straight to your Aunt's in Japan and that will be the end of this behavior"._ Of course, she threatened it so many times and never followed through that she didn't believe her. So she just kept on doing what she did best - partying and getting into all sorts of trouble.

Dove had fallen in with the wrong crowd in middle school, and by the time she reached high school, she was skipping school to go to the beach with her friends and getting into trouble for not paying attention or cracking jokes during class when she was there. And that was only the daytime. Once the sun went down that was when the real fun began. Dove and her friends would drive around into the early hours of morning, parking at random spots to drink, and smoke weed and every weekend she would be at random people's houses she barely knew going to house party after house party.

Sometimes though, she would end up leaving early, because whatever new boyfriend she had that month had tried to push her into doing things she didn't want to do, or it had all just become too much for her. She'd walk herself home because everyone was too drunk to drive, her head swimming from the intoxication, the whole time thinking about her life and if this was really who she wanted to be. She'd get home and her mom would yell at her and she'd think how hypocritical that was, then pass out in bed just to wake up the next morning to do the same thing all over again without consequence.

The final straw had been only two days ago, when one of Dove's friends had the brilliant idea to break into an old abandoned building and spend the night there because it was supposed to be haunted. She had known from the minute it was suggested that it was a bad idea but went along with it anyway, because she knew she wouldn't hear the end of it from her friends if she didn't go. Besides, what else was she supposed to do? So she'd gone, with a group of about ten other kids.

By the time she heard the sirens, she was already too far gone to fully register that the sound was getting louder and closer, and before she knew it she had handcuffs around her wrists and was being shoved into the back of a police car. And that was the last thing she remembered before she blacked out.

Somehow she'd gotten back home, and she woke up the next morning to her mom ranting to herself in Japanese and shoving all of her belongings into suitcases. She had been too hungover at the time to fully comprehend what was going on but as she understood it, she was to be on a plane the next day to Japan to live with her Aunt and attend some prestigious school that her Aunt had managed to secure her a spot in because she taught there. And that was how she'd gotten herself here, sitting in an uncomfortable seat on a fourteen hour long plane ride to a foreign country she knew nothing about except the language.

Dove groaned, earning her a strange look from the old woman sitting next to her to which she just rolled her eyes. Really, she knew she had no one to blame for this but herself, but she still wanted to blame everyone else anyway. Her mom, for being a terrible example her entire life, her stupid friends with their stupid ideas, even her deadbeat dad whom she'd never even laid eyes on, not even in a picture. But however reckless she may be, that didn't mean she was stupid, and she knew that ultimately her decisions had been her own to make, and she'd made all the wrong ones.

Turning the music up in her headphones to block out the noise from the plane, she rested her head against the window and closed her eyes, not wanting to watch her world disappear anymore. As she slowly drifted off to sleep, she thought that maybe, just maybe she could make the best of this bad situation. Maybe she could start fresh in a place where no one knew her name, or her reputation, and become a person she wouldn't hate to look at in the mirror.

* * *

Dove woke with a start as her head banged against the window when the plane landed. She rubbed the side of her head with her hand as she listened to the voice coming from the speakers of the plane. "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to New Tokyo International airport. Local time is 12:14pm April 2nd and the temperature is 64 degrees. For your safety, please remain seated with your seatbelts fastened until..." Dove sighed, tuning out the pilot and putting her headphones that had fallen out back into her ears only to realize her phone was dead.

"Great." She groaned, shoving her dead phone into her jeans pocket and pushing her way into the aisle, grabbing her backpack and making her way off the plane into the unfamiliar airport. Once off, she followed the signs and made her way down to the baggage claim area where she had been told her Aunt would be waiting for her. She pulled a picture out of her backpack that her mom had given her of her Aunt, since she'd only met her twice before when she was much younger and scanned the crowd for the familiar face.

Her Aunt spotted her before she did and was already headed her way. "Konnichiwa, Dove," she said warmly, giving her a small smile and pulling her into a hug before quickly pulling back and looking her up and down, shaking her head slightly. "It's a good thing there's a uniform for your new school.

Dove had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying anything. Instead she glanced down at her clothes to inspect them herself. She had on a pair of faded jeans that were ripped open at the knee on one side, and had multiple rips down her thigh on the other side, a cream colored crop top with a pink and orange flower pattern and a pair of light orange converse. She saw nothing wrong with her clothes - this was how she always dressed. But she was guessing, with a sinking feeling in her stomach at the thought of a uniform, that was going to change very soon too whether she liked it or not.

Unconsciously, she shifted her hands nervously to her hair. She had very long, thick light brown hair that reach slightly past her hips when it was down but there was just so much of it that whenever it was down it became a huge tangled mess so she always wore it up in a high ponytail. She was very attached to her hair and she was determined that no matter how many other things in her life were changing, she wasn't letting anyone mess with it. That was out of the question.

"Dove, are you listening to me?" Her Aunt scolded, waving a hand in front of her face.

She blinked, letting her hand drop and grinned apologetically, "Sorry, what?"

Her Aunt sighed, handing Dove two large bags of luggage to carry and pulling one behind herself as she headed out the doors of the airport towards the parking lot. "I said, I have been made aware of what has been going on with you, and I want you to know right from the start that kind of behavior won't be tolerated here." Dove nodded, and tried to keep pace with her Aunt while balancing the heavy bags in her arms. "That being said, I'm not going to hold anything you've done in your past against you. Your mother and I both want you to have a fresh start, far away from everything and everyone that was influencing your behavior and that's exactly what you're going to get here."

Dove gasped, she hadn't been expecting that. Really, she assumed she would be getting an hour long lecture about everything she'd done wrong, and how she was ruining her life and so on, because that's what her mom always did. She couldn't help it, she found herself smiling, and she looked over at her Aunt gratefully, "H-hai. Thank you, Aunt Maiko." And as she opened the car door and squeezed into the seat beside her luggage, she couldn't help thinking for the second time now, that maybe this really could be a good thing after all.

* * *

Much to Dove's dismay, she had been woken early the next morning by her Aunt and told she had already missed the first day of school, and couldn't miss any more so she would be starting immediately. Even worse was the uniform that had been hung on the door for her. Dove shifted uncomfortably as she studied herself in the mirror. She had never worn anything like this before in her life and had it been up to her, she never would again.

She didn't care much for dresses in the first place, except the occasional sundress in the summer when it was too hot to wear anything else. And this dress in particular was way too wide at the bottom, had puffy shoulders and was a horrible pale yellow color that looked strange against her pink tinted skin tone. Not to mention the clingy white tights and uncomfortable black dress shoes. Dove scowled at her reflection - she missed her jeans and converse.

With the briefest thought of her friends back home, and what they would think of her in this ridiculous get up, she realized there was nothing to be done about it and pulled her hair up into its usual high ponytail, sticking to her resolve that her hair at the very least would remain under her control. She sighed, grabbing her backpack and making her way downstairs only to hear her Aunt squeal with delight.

"Kawaii! Dove you look adorable!" Maiko grabbed her by the shoulders and spun her around in a little circle.

Dove couldn't help herself, she groaned, throwing herself down into one of the kitchen chairs and stuffing a piece of toast in her mouth. "I look like a cupcake." She mumbled in between bites, "A very unfashionable cupcake."

Maiko just shook her head, ignoring her protests for the most part. "Nonsense. Now, when we get to school, I'll introduce you to the Chairman's son who has graciously agreed to show you around the school. His name is Tamaki Suoh and he's one year above you." She paused for a minute, considering something as she looked and the scowl Dove still had on her face, "Be nice, he's my bosses son and I like my job. And please wipe that look off your face."

Dove sighed, plastering a huge fake grin on her face in place of the scowl, and considering for a moment how there would be no chance of her being able to skip school anymore even if she wanted to since her Aunt worked there, "I'll be good." She promised, like she even had a choice.

Maiko raised an eyebrow and looked at her for a minute as if considering whether or not this was a good idea after all but gave a small nod after a minute. "Right, well let's get going then!" She said cheerfully, clapping her hands together lightly. Grabbing another piece of toast, Dove nodded back and followed her Aunt out to her car, silently thanking whatever Gods that were listening that at least all the other girls would be in the same ridiculous outfit she was.

The drive to the school, which she had learned was called Ouran Academy, was relatively short and soon enough she found herself without her mouth gaping open at the huge school campus that was more the size of a college than a high school. _Great_ , she thought, _I'm going to be in a school with a bunch of stuck up_ _rich kids._ But she couldn't help but be at least slightly impressed with the school as she followed her Aunt inside and she realized the inside of the school was even larger and more impressive than the outside.

They had only walked a few steps into the school when Maiko beamed as she spotted a tall blonde haired boy in a blue blazer and black dress pants. "Tamaki-sama!" She greeted him, smiling, "This is my niece, Dove Kobayashi. Thank you for agreeing to show her around." She nudged Dove lightly with her elbow and pushed her forward slightly.

"Oh, yeah thanks!" Dove said quickly, trying to sound enthusiastic.

Before she even knew what had happened, the blonde boy - Tamaki - had grabbed Dove's hand and pulled her closer to him so that they were only inches apart and he lightly brushed his lips against her finger tips. "It's my pleasure, princess." He said, purple eyes sparkling.

Dove's own green eyes widened as she stared at this strange boy for a minute, unsure of what exactly had just happened. She was used to getting attention from guys, sure but not like this. Most guys back home usually just resorted to yelling out obscene things from across the room or trying to make out with her after a few drinks. Was this guy for real? She couldn't help it, after the initial shock wore off, Dove burst out laughing. "Trust me, I'm no princess." She grinned at him, tugging her hand out his grasp, considering for a second, "But I will be if it gets you to show me around, this building is huge, and there's no way I'm not getting lost."

Tamaki looked stricken - clearly he wasn't used to girls brushing off his charm like it was nothing. "R-right this way prin-" he paused, looking at Dove's smug grin and raised eyebrow, "Dove-chan." He flushed slightly but quickly recovered himself and flourished his hand forward to tell her to proceed ahead. Dove held back another laugh, shaking her head. With a quick wave to her Aunt, Dove walked ahead, deciding that this boy might be strange, but at least it was an improvement over the guys from her old school.

He turned out to be a pretty good tour guide, he seemed to know every inch of the school and took his time showing her around. She also noticed that seemingly every girl in the school that they passed greeted him in some way or another and without fail he greeted each and every one of them back referring to them all as "princess" and shamelessly flirting with them. He sure was popular. Though she didn't see the appeal he held with all the girls, he was nice enough and she could use a friend, so she tried her very best to hold back her laughter and eye rolls while he put on a show for the other girls.

When Dove thought there was no possible way there could be anymore to see in the school, Tamaki paused at a set of double doors, the sign above them read _Music Room 3_. Tamaki beamed at her, his grin wider than she'd seen it yet and pointed at the doors. "The final stop on our tour is my favorite place in the school. This is where my club meets every day after classes are over. You should stop by today, it's a very popular club."

Dove shrugged, not wanting to offend him but she didn't even want to be in school during class hours, let alone stay after, "Um, thanks but I don't really know much about playing music. I'm more of a dancer than a musician."

Tamaki laughed loudly, shaking his head, "No, this isn't a music club."

Dove raised an eyebrow at him, waiting for him to elaborate but he didn't. She couldn't help it, she was curious, "What kind of club is it then?"

Tamaki just grinned, "Come by after class and find out for yourself." He said, winking. "Come on," he started again, not giving her a chance to refuse, "I'll walk you to your second class, we've already missed first period."

* * *

Dove took a deep breath as she watched Tamaki walk away to his class and she stood in front of her classroom door, alone now. Her second class of the day was math - her absolute least favorite subject. She hated math, she found it extremely pointless and it was the class she skipped most often back home. For a minute, she almost turned around and walked away from the classroom, thinking that the school was big enough no one would find her anyway. But she thought better of it and let out the breath she'd been holding as she opened the doors and walked in.

Much to her relief, she wasn't late so no one was staring at her as she scanned the room for an empty seat, awkwardly tugging on the little red bow on her dress. She finally spotted one that was thankfully in the second row closest to the back of the room and she threw her bag down on the desk before sitting down, and tossing her big ponytail over the chair so that she didn't sit on her hair.

"Hey, watch it!" She heard a boy yell irritably and she spun around in her chair to see what she could possibly have done to piss someone off after only a few seconds of being in class. Her eyes widened and for once, she found herself at a loss for words. Even with a scowl on his face, the boy behind her might just have been the most attractive boy she'd ever seen - and she didn't exactly hang out with bad looking guys back home. He had messy auburn hair, with bangs parted to the right that fell just below his big golden eyes and though it was hard to tell because he was seated, he appeared to be fairly tall, with a lean frame.

Awestruck, she watched him as he detangled his hands from her hair and brushed a few loose strands out of his face, finally grabbing the bulk of it and tossing it back at her. As she was hit in the face with her own ponytail, Dove finally snapped out of her trance, "Um.. S-sorry," She stuttered, shaking her head slightly to clear it. This was ridiculous, since when did she ever let any guy have this kind of affect on her? _He's just another guy_ , she reminded herself, clearing her throat and trying again. "My hair has a mind of it's own, I swear." She joked, and grinned at him apologetically, holding out her hand, "I'm Dove, it's my first day here."

The boy studied Dove's outstretched hand for a minute, as if trying to decide something while Dove watched him, still wide-eyed. Finally, a smile that was more of a smirk spread across his lips and he grasped Dove's hand in his own which she couldn't help but notice was extraordinarily soft for a boy's hand. "No harm done, I guess. I'm Hikaru." He glanced to his left and Dove followed his gaze as he gestured with his other hand to a boy in the seat next to him, "And this is my brother, Kaoru."

It took every ounce of self control Dove had to stop her jaw from dropping open. She took in the other boy's features and realized they looked exactly alike, except this other boy - Kaoru - had his auburn bangs parted to the left and wore a shy smile on his lips rather than his brother's smirk which made his features looked softer. He also had a tiny, barely noticeable freckle just under the outer corner of his right eye. Lost in her thoughts, she was vaguely aware of Kaoru grabbing her other hand and holding it gently between both of his. If it was possible, her eyes widened even more and she looked back and forth between the two identical boys. _There's two of them..._ the thought kept running around in her head and she became flustered once more. "Pleased to meet you, little bird." Kaoru said softly, the musical tone in his voice causing her heart to skip a beat.

"N-nice to meet you too... K-Kaoru," she said shyly before glancing back over to the first boy, and nodding at him, her voice barely a whisper at this point as she said, "Hikaru.." she stared at him for a minute before coming to her senses and pulling both of her hands back from them simultaneously which helped to clear her head. "I um.. I think class is starting." She said quickly, spinning back around in her chair before either of the boys could say anything else to her. She took a deep breath, and put her head in her hands, embarrassed at herself. Usually, she talked to boys with ease, joking around and flirting with them like it was second nature. Never in her life had anyone had this affect on her, and she was determined to be in control of herself next time she spoke to the twins.

She had two more classes with them, fourth and fifth period, though she wasn't sure about first since she had missed that one. She was annoyed at how she had looked for them upon entering each class, and had deflated somewhat during third and sixth period when they weren't there. She hadn't spoken to anyone else in her classes, and no one else had spoken to her, she just got a few sideways glances here and there since she was new. The twins did both speak to her again though.

At the beginning of fourth period, which was literature, one of the twins - Kaoru, she decided, noting his left parted bangs and the slight musical tone to his voice when he spoke - had smiled at her and waved her over to the empty seat next to him in the front row. Normally, Dove would have been opposed to sitting in the front of the class, as the teacher would more likely be able to notice whether or not she was paying attention but she found her legs moving of their own accord towards the open seat, unable to resist Kaoru's charming smile as he said, "You can sit with me, if you want."

"Thanks, Kaoru." She said, softer than she would have liked but thankfully more composed than before as she returned his smile and glanced at Hikaru who was sitting behind him to give him a small smile as well. She noticed that for a brief second, they both looked slightly confused and she wondered if she had somehow managed to mix them up, "I'm so sorry, did I get that wrong?" She asked, horrified, looking back and forth between the two of them. She was usually very observant when it came to reading other people.

"No, you were... right." Hikaru said, a slight shock to his voice, and she could almost feel his eyes on the back of her head throughout the duration of class. When class was over she had gathered her stuff and almost gotten out the door when she bumped into someone and then felt an arm around her shoulders. Kaoru was blocking her exit, which meant it was Hikaru's arm around her. She flushed slightly red as she tilted her chin up slightly to look at Hikaru, noting the height difference. She was just barely five feet tall, and the twins towered over her by at least nine inches. "What's your next class? We have Chemistry."

"Me too, although I'm not too sure who's bright idea it was to put me in such an advanced class, I'm terrible at science." Dove admitted, happy at least that she was now better able to keep her composure around these two. After all, she kept repeating to herself in her head like a mantra, they were just boys. Just ordinary boys like any other. And she needed friends, which they wouldn't want to be if she kept acting like a star struck idiot.

"We'll walk you. You can sit with me, and I'll help you, I'm really good at Chemistry." Hikaru grinned and Dove couldn't help thinking she wouldn't mind chemistry so much if it was between her and Hikaru. _Just a boy..._ She reminded herself and she nodded, not trusting herself to speak as Kaoru threw his arm around her shoulders as well and she walked down the hallway between the two.

She couldn't help but notice as they walked, that many of the same girls who had been waving and greeting Tamaki earlier were acting the same way around the twins, and she thought it was a little odd but chalked it up to girls here just being shamelessly flirty with attractive boys. She also noticed - and admittedly couldn't help but be a little happy about it - that Hikaru and Kaoru didn't pay as much attention to the girls as Tamaki did. They would wave or smile but that was about it, they were more focused on each other instead. They were laughing about something she hadn't caught because she was too busy observing everyone, and would steal glances at each other fairly often.

During fifth period, she sat with them again, this time in the second row between the two. Halfway through class, Hikaru had tossed a small piece of paper at her, which hit her head and fell onto her desk. She unfolded it to reveal a drawing of their teacher, with a frogs head as her face and she could help but laugh out loud (their teacher did have a very frog-like look to her), earning her a nasty glare from the teacher. She quickly hid the paper before it could be seen and apologized, glancing at Hikaru once the teacher had turned around and grinning.

So then he wasn't just a pretty face, she was getting the vibe that he may just be a little bit of a troublemaker like herself. Okay, maybe not exactly like she had been, he seemed way too well groomed and put together for all that, but she had a feeling they would get along just fine. She looked over to her other side at Kaoru, wondering about him for a minute. He was a little harder to read, because he was a little quieter than his brother, but that would just make it more fun to figure him out.

The rest of class passed quickly, and she parted ways with the twins reluctantly when she realized she didn't share last period with them. She didn't pay much attention during her last class, watching the clock in anticipation of the school day ending so that she could check out Tamaki's club. Sometime during third period, when she wasn't distracted by the twins, she had decided she was too curious not to at least find out what exactly it was. Besides, the twins might have been being nice to her in class today, but she had way too much experience with people to think their interest would really last once her new girl appeal wore off, and she wasn't the kind of person who liked to be on her own. She needed a new group of friends, and she guessed that this club was her best option of making some at the moment.

* * *

The last bell signaling the end of the school day finally rang, and Dove was the first person out of the classroom, rushing in the direction Tamaki had told her the middle school was to meet up with her Aunt in her classroom. She was supposed to be riding home with her, and realized she'd have to let her know about her plans to check out the club, and for a minute she was worried she would say no. Dove wasn't used to asking for permission and was mildly annoyed at having to do so, but she didn't want to risk not asking - she wasn't sure what would happen if she messed up here but she knew she didn't want to find out.

"Aunt Maiko?" Dove waved at her Aunt who was poured over a stack of papers.

Maiko smiled and gestured for Dove to come inside. "Dove! How was your first day? Did you like your classes? Make any friends?"

Dove smiled slightly at her Aunt's enthusiasm - she couldn't have been more different from her mom, even though they were sisters. "It wasn't bad," she admitted truthfully, she really hadn't hated it as much as she thought she would, "Classes were..." she paused, thinking not of the classwork but of the insanely attractive twins, "interesting." She flushed slightly, and quickly pulled her ponytail in front of her face pretending to be detangling her hair to hide her red face before her Aunt could notice, "And oh, about making friends... I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Yes, what's that?" Maiko asked, eyeing her curiously.

"Well, that Tamaki boy who showed me around the school this morning invited me to come to his club after school. Honestly, I have no idea what kind of clubs it is, he wouldn't tell me. But I was wondering if you'd mind if I went." At that, Maiko covered her mouth and giggled - actually _giggled_ \- like a school girl. Dove raised an eyebrow, "Um, Aunt Maiko? You okay?"

Maiko suppressed her laughter, and walked over to Dove, placing a hand on her shoulder, "Of course you can go, I know all about Tamaki-sama's little club. It's very popular, I think you'll definitely enjoy yourself."

Dove watched her Aunt, who was clearly still trying to stop herself from laughing, making her slightly concerned and a worried look crossed her face. "Right. Okay then well... thanks. I'll see you later tonight." Her Aunt waved at her and she could hear renewed giggles as she made her way out of the classroom, wondering if this was a good idea after all. Well, she supposed it was too late to turn back now, and besides her Aunt had said this was a popular club so if she wanted to make friends this would probably be a good place to start. Now all that was left was to somehow remember how to get back to Music Room 3.

 **[a/n: While Dove is talking to her Aunt and wandering the halls looking for the Host Club, this is when the beginning stuff with Haruhi meeting the club and breaking the vase is happening. So Dove is going to meet the club right after Haruhi does.]**

* * *

After what felt like forever, but was really only a little more than a half hour, Dove finally arrived at Music Room 3. She really had been paying attention when Tamaki had shown her around earlier but it didn't make any difference - the school was just too big. She had a bad feeling it was going to take her a while before she really knew her way around. Standing in front of the door staring at it, Dove wished she hadn't gotten there so late, now everyone was going to stare at her when she walked in. Well, there was nothing to be done about it, and she made up her mind pushing the doors open.

As she entered the room, Dove had to blink her eyes a few times, it was so bright. She stood in the doorway somewhat awkwardly, her eyes darting around the room, not sure what to look at first because well... she wasn't quite sure what exactly she was looking at. It was a large room of course, everything in this school was large, and was decorated in a way that reminded her a little bit of a fancy coffee shop around Valentine's Day. There were many tables, and couches and everything was red and pink. There were more roses than she could count, and on every table there were an assortment of sandwiches, cakes, drinks and all kinds of sweets.

Taking in the strange, but beautiful surroundings she also noticed two more things. Firstly, that literally not one person in the room was looking at her like she had thought they would. In fact, she didn't think anyone had even noticed her come in. And second, the occupants of the room were predominantly female. There was at least thirty girls, dressed in identical outfits and indistinguishable from each other - and from her, she remembered, grimacing slightly at her tacky outfit - in the room and only a few boys.

Automatically, her eyes scanned each boy in the room, trying to figure out what was going on. She spotted Tamaki first, his bright blonde hair was hard to miss, and he was surrounded by a large group of girls and they appeared to be drinking some kind of coffee or tea. Next to him was a smaller boy, around her height who much to her surprise was dressed in an oversized sweatshirt rather than the blazer and dress pants uniform the rest of the boys wore to school. Taking a few more steps into the room towards Tamaki's group, she contemplated trying to catch his attention but decided against it - he was clearly preoccupied.

Sighing, she realized she was going to have to talk to people on her own, without introduction. However, she wasn't too concerned about that. What was bothering her more was that she still had yet to figure out what kind of club this was exactly. Getting more and more confused by the second, she wandered around the room, searching for anyone who didn't look too busy to explain to her what was going on. And that was when she spotted them. Hikaru and Kaoru. She briefly wondered if it was possible for your heart to actually drop down into your stomach because that was what it felt like when she laid eyes on them.

They were at a small round table in the corner, sitting with two unfamiliar girls who were clearly infatuated with them. Not that she could blame the girls, as she was very much fascinated with these boys herself. She was close enough to overhear what they were saying, but far enough away that hopefully no one would notice her, so despite her better judgement, she decided to observe the group for a minute.

She heard Hikaru laugh, and she hated the way she loved the sound, "So he had this nightmare that made him bolt up right out of bed." He said, all smiles for the girls listening to him.

"Hikaru, don't tell them that story." Kaoru said, looking away and blushing, "I asked you not to tell anyone that. Why are you so mean to me?" She watched as a few tears rolled down Kaoru's cheeks, and found herself as captivated by their little show as the other girls.

Hikaru's golden eyes widened, concern covering every inch of his face, "I'm sorry, Kaoru." He said softly, placing his hands on either side of Kaoru's cheeks and pulling him in close so that their faces were just inches apart, "I didn't mean to upset you. But you were so adorable when it happened I had to tell them."

Kaoru grasped Hikaru's arms with his hands and they held each other close, "I forgive you." Kaoru whispered, and they stayed like that, staring into each other eyes, looking like they were about to kiss at any moment. The girls at their table squealed, and Dove realized she'd been holding her breath.

Reminding herself how to breathe again, Dove tore her eyes away from the twins. That had been... intense. She couldn't think of any other way to describe it. She found herself feeling many conflicting emotions as she walked away from the twins towards the center of the room, not sure she could take much more at the moment and trying to understand what she was feeling.

The first most prevalent emotion was definitely jealousy, and it was completely irrational. She'd only known these boys for less than a day, she had no claim on either of them and absolutely no right to be jealous of them showing other girls attention. But regardless of whether or not it was rational, she couldn't help but be disappointed that their interest in her clearly hadn't meant anything - they were big flirts just like Tamaki was and knew exactly what to say and how to act in order to get girls to fall for them.

Pushing aside her jealous feelings and forgetting the other girls, she focused instead on how they were acting with each other. She was curious, and extremely confused. They were brothers, twins even, but the way they spoke to each other, held each other and looked deep into each other's eyes like that - they were acting more like lovers. She had noticed it earlier, in the hallway when they were stealing glances at each other and had their arms entwined while around her shoulders. She had dismissed it then as nothing but seeing them now, there was definitely something going on there. Granted, it could just be a show to make the girls like them more, but she suspected that wasn't all there was to it.

The way they looked at each other, she'd seen that look before. Never directed at her, but she'd known plenty of couples back home and that was definitely a look of real, deep love. She knew she should find that disturbing, after all they were brothers, and it was so wrong on so many levels. But surprisingly, she didn't seem to find it disturbing at all. In fact, she was fascinated by it, and that thought made her feel a little sick. The only thing that helped was that clearly, the other girls felt exactly the same way she did, so she supposed it must not be that bad if they felt that way too. At least, that's what she was telling herself.

Pushing the twins from her mind as best as she could she decided to try and do what she'd come here for in the the first place - make some friends. But first, she needed to find out what exactly was going on here. At that moment she noticed two new boys walking into the room, one tall with dark hair who looked rather unapproachable and the other slightly shorter than her with dirty blonde hair who looked like he belonged in middle school rather than high school. The taller one sat down with another group of girls on some couches, and the little one ran over to the boy in the big sweatshirt she had seen with Tamaki earlier and talked with him for a minute before heading to the couches himself and jumping onto one of the girl's laps.

Dove sighed, she figured it was now or never, she'd already been here long enough without even trying to talk to anyone and the little blonde boy seemed harmless enough. Twisting a loose strand of hair around her fingers, she walked over to the couches and tapped him on the shoulder. He blinked up at her curiously with big brown eyes and a few of the girls turned to look at her as well. "Um, hi..." she started, uncomfortable with everyone staring at her. Normally, talking to new people came naturally to her, but she wasn't sure of how to act around these rich high-society types and felt very out of place. She took in a breath, forcing herself to smile, "My name's Dove. I just started school here, and I was wondering if you could maybe explain what's going on here?"

The girls giggled, much in the way her Aunt had earlier and the small boy beamed at her, jumping into her arms and knocking her over in the process because she wasn't all that much taller than he was. She flushed slightly because he'd landed on top of her and the other girls squealed in delight but he just gave her a big innocent smile, "Dove-chan!" He laughed, standing up and offering her his hand to pull her up as well, "I'm Mitsukuni, but everyone just calls me Honey. That," he pointed to the tall dark-haired boy, "is Mori. This is Host Club!"

Honey grabbed Dove's hand again and lead her over to the couch to sit next to the girls already there, and sat himself back down on one of their laps. Now Dove was even more confused, "Host Club? What's a Host club?" She asked, looking from Honey to Mori, to each of the other girls, trying to find answers on any of their faces.

Suddenly Honey got very serious for a second, as if he'd been taught to recite what he was saying by heart, "The Ouran Host Club is where the school's handsomest boy's with too much time on their hands entertain young ladies who also have way too much time on their hands." He blinked and beamed up at Mori, "How was that, Mori-chan?" Mori nodded at him in approval and Dove fell quiet, pressing her elbow into her thigh and leaning her cheek into her hand, taking a minute to process this.

"So..." she looked up at Honey, then to Mori, then got a quick glimpse of the twins who were now running off somewhere with the boy in the sweatshirt, and then over at Tamaki who was talking with another dark haired boy with glasses. "Basically you're just a group of good looking guys who got bored and started a club where girls who you otherwise would never give the time of day to could come hang out with you?"

The girls sitting near her looked horrified at how she'd worded it, and Honey fell off the couch, "So blunt..." he mumbled before composing himself and climbing back onto the couch. "It's all so much fun, really! Here, have some cake!" He grabbed a big piece of chocolate cake off the table in front of them and shoved it towards Dove.

"Um... thanks." She couldn't help but smile at him, and she took the cake he offered and took a bite because he was staring at her and she was sure he wouldn't stop until she did. So this was it then, a Host club. She couldn't help but think it was a little egotistical. These boys basically stayed after school every day to get fawned over by adoring fan girls as if they were celebrities. In fact, remembering the way all the girls acted in the hallway with Tamaki, Hikaru and Kaoru she figured they basically were celebrities in the school. But for what reason? For being rich and attractive? Well, she supposed that's all the majority of celebrities were famous for nowadays anyway.

And really, could she blame these girls for being so enamored by all of this? She had been just as hooked the minute she'd first laid eyes on Hikaru and Kaoru, found Honey absolutely adorable, and was even starting to see the appeal Tamaki might have. Even the room itself was gorgeous, the whole atmosphere screamed romance novel. She supposed at the very least this couldn't be a worse way to spend her time then getting drunk and high all the time and going to house parties where no one even really cared about her or remembered her name. And maybe it would distract her and keep her out of trouble. Deciding, she looked over at Honey again and smiled, "Alright, I'm in. Sign me up, what do I have to do to join?"

"Nothing! Just show up after classes and request which host you want to see that day with Kyoya, the one with the glasses. Even if we're all busy, you can always come by anyway and eat some cake!" Honey nodded at the cake still in her hands and she took another bite to appease him.

Dove thought for a minute who she would even request. Of course her mind went right to Hikaru and Kaoru, but she knew as much as she might want to she wouldn't be requesting them. No, she would much rather get to know them during classes instead. The last thing she wanted was to be just another fangirl to them, or to share their attention with other girls. She could always request Tamaki, but he was too big of a flirt, and she wasn't really interested. "Honey, is it okay if I request you tomorrow? I'd like it if we could be friends, I don't really know too many people here yet."

Honey's face lit up and he threw his arms around her neck, "Of course, Dove-chan! We can eat lots of cake, and candy and I'll even introduce you to Usa-chan!"

Dove couldn't help but laugh. Honey was certainly completely different than anyone she was friends with back home, that was for sure. She figured he was her best option at the moment as far as requesting a host. He was cheerful, didn't seem like he would try and be flirty with her, and besides she really did like cake and sweets. She just couldn't help but wondering if Hikaru or Kaoru would notice her at the club tomorrow, because they certainly didn't today. Well, at least this would definitely be interesting.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Okay so I know there wasn't really any romance yet. I'd like Dove's relationship with Hikaru and Kaoru to develop over time rather than happen right away out of nowhere. And, just to clarify, Dove isn't like an alcoholic or anything, she just drank at parties & such. She's a bit of a bad girl, but she's also more innocent in certain ways than she seems. It will all be explained more in time. Hopefully no one acted out of character at all either, I did my best with them. Also, I know this whole chapter was told from Dove's perspective, but at some point I may write from Hikaru or Kaoru's perspective as well. :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note:** If you're still with me after that super long intro chapter, thank you! :D There will a whole lot of romantic stuff in this chapter & you will see much more of Hikaru and Kaoru than you did last chapter, I promise. I also gave a couple of the background host club fangirls names & personalities, Dove needed some female friends. That's all for now, I hope you enjoy!

 **Disclaimer:** I (unfortunately) don't own Ouran Host Club or any of its characters or plots. But Dove and her storyline are mine.

* * *

When Dove woke up the next morning to get ready for her second day of school, she was surprised to find that not only was she not completely dreading it, but some small part of her was actually looking forward to going. Never in her life had she actually wanted to go to school before. Of course, it wasn't the classes she was anticipating - it was Host Club, and the thought of seeing Hikaru and Kaoru again.

The morning went by in a blur and she soon found herself rushing through the halls of Ouran Academy, trying to find where her first period class was. Luckily she managed to get there in time just before the bell signaling the beginning of the school day rang, and she burst into the room, out of breath. Her eyes automatically scanned the room of their own accord, searching for the twins and her face dropped when she didn't see them anywhere. She sighed, making her way to the back of the classroom & sliding into an empty seat in the corner. Well, at least this would give her time to think about what she was even going to say to them when she did see them.

After what felt like an eternity, first period was finally over and Dove was the first one out the door, rushing through the hallways so fast that she was actually a few minutes early to her next class. She couldn't help but smile when she saw that the twins were already there, but her happiness was short lived - someone was in her seat. And that someone looked familiar she realized. Studying them for a minute, she realized it was the small boy in the oversized sweatshirt from Host Club yesterday, only he had on a uniform today and seemed way too pretty to be a boy without his glasses on. The twins were talking with him and laughing and Dove sighed dejectedly and threw herself down into an empty chair on the other side of the room, folding her arms on the desk and resting her head on top of them, her positive mood from this morning completely forgotten.

She must have fallen asleep at some point because she woke with a start to someone lighting tapping their knuckles against her head. She looked up blinking sleep out of her eyes only to see Kaoru kneeling in front of her desk, his face way too close to hers, "Knock knock, anyone home?" He asked, waving his hand in front of her face.

Startled, Dove jumped back in her seat, sitting up straight and creating some much needed distance between them. "I guess I must have dozed off..." she yawned, shrugging, "class is boring."

"Well, I'll have to save you a seat in math then, maybe I can find a way to keep you awake." He winked at her and she couldn't stop the blush that was spreading across her cheeks. Wondering where Hikaru was, since they were usually together, she looked around the room until she spotted him, still talking to the same boy who'd taken her seat. Her annoyance must have shown on her face because Kaoru grinned at her apologetically, "Sorry about that. That's Haruhi, he's new here too. He's in a club with me and Hikaru, and we're trying to make him feel welcome."

She knew he meant Host Club, which must have meant that Haruhi was one of the hosts as well. It also meant, by the way he hadn't mentioned the name of the club, that not only had he not noticed her there, but he hadn't been planning on inviting her to come either. Growing more annoyed, and a little disappointed, Dove pushed her chair out, standing up, "Right well, I have to get to my next class. See you." She didn't wait for Kaoru to respond, she just brushed past him, and walked out the door.

All throughout third period, Dove was strengthening her resolve to not speak to twins during the rest of their classes today, determined to show them what it felt like to not be noticed. Of course, that all went out the window the second she walked into her fourth period class and saw that instead of Kaoru, today Hikaru was sitting in the front row and he'd placed his books on the seat next to his, and was waving her over. Little did she know, but they'd switched seats on purpose.

They had been so surprised the day before when she had told them apart so easily that during third period they had talked about it and decided to test her. Halfway through class, Kaoru had leaned over, poking Hikaru's shoulder. "Hikaru," he whispered, the older twin looking over at him questioningly, "What do you think of the new girl, Dove?"

Hikaru shrugged, thinking on it for a minute, "She's... different." He decided on. Really, he wasn't all that sure what to think of her. He'd only even talked to her in the first place because she'd assaulted him with her hair and then introduced herself and while he had no problem being rude to other guys, he was never mean to a pretty girl without reason, especially not since joining Host Club.

"Yesterday, she knew who I was. She told us apart." Kaoru continued, poking Hikaru's shoulder again because he had turned away to look back at the teacher. "I want to get to know her Hika..." he said, pouting slightly, widening his eyes innocently at his brother.

Hikaru sighed, he knew he couldn't deny Kaoru something he wanted, especially when he made that face. "Fine, but let's find out first if she really can tell us apart. Because if she can't, she isn't worth our time anymore than any of the Host Club fangirls are."

Kaoru nodded, his pout turning into a grin, "Okay, I told her I'd save her a seat in math so let's start there. We'll switch seats and see if she notices. If she does, we'll figure out what else to do later."

Hikaru had agreed, and so he found himself sitting in the front row of class, waving over the new girl as she walked in. "Hey, Dove! Told you I'd save you a seat." He said, grinning at her.

But Dove didn't smile back as she sat down. Passing him the books he had placed on the desk, she turned towards him, raising an eyebrow. "No you didn't. You didn't even talk to me today." She said matter-of-factly like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "But thanks anyway." She gave Hikaru a small smile, noticing the shock on his face even as he tried his best to hide it. She had a feeling not many people were able to tell the twins apart, but she found it rather easy. She was very observant and noticed little things about people that others normally wouldn't. Hikaru, for example, always sat up straight while Kaoru had the tendency to slouch slightly. There were lots of little differences like that between the two, most people just didn't bother taking the time to notice them.

Kaoru wrapped his arms around his brother's neck from the seat behind him and leaned in close to his ear whispering something that sounded suspiciously like, "I told you so" before leaning back into his seat and flashing Dove a big grin and then proceeded to throw little pieces of crumpled up paper at the back of her head every time she looked like she was about to fall asleep, keeping her awake as promised.

When class was over, the twins walked with Dove to fifth period again, and she also got to sit in the seat between them again much to her delight. However chemistry class was so painfully boring that Dove fell asleep again, despite both of the twins tossing papers, erasers and various other small objects at her to try and wake her up. At the end of class, Kaoru tried unsuccessfully to wake her by lightly shaking her and poking at her cheeks but it wasn't until Hikaru pulled roughly on her ponytail that she finally woke up. "Hey!" She protested, rubbing the back of her head and glaring up at Hikaru who was smirking at her, hair still in his hand. "What was that for?"

"Class is over, you slept through it." Kaoru told her, while Hikaru laughed, playfully giving her hair a couple more small tugs.

"Cut it out!" Dove grabbed her own hair and tried to pull it from Hikaru's grasp but couldn't help from laughing a little herself - his laugh was infectious.

Finally, he released her and the twins put their arms around each other's shoulders holding up their free hands to give Dove a little wave. "See you tomorrow!" They said together, walking out of the classroom before she even had a chance to say anything back. Of course what they didn't know is that she would see them later at Host Club, rather than tomorrow. Though whether or not they'd notice her today she wasn't sure. She just knew she couldn't stop thinking about the way Hikaru's hand had felt in her hair and all through sixth period she was lost in daydreams of what it would feel like if he had been kissing her while he pulled on her hair like that.

* * *

"I told you she could tell us apart, Hikaru." Kaoru was pestering his brother about Dove again in the changing room of the Host Club. "She knew it was you in the front row," he continued as he tossed his school shirt to the side and unbuttoned his black dress pants, "she didn't even have to think about it she just _knew_." Kaoru watched as Hikaru discarded his own school clothes, and reached to grab for his tropical outfit. But before he could, Kaoru pressed his body against Hikaru's, causing him to stumble back into the wall of the dressing room. Kaoru placed his hands on the wall on either side of Hikaru's head, preventing him from moving. "Are you even listening to me Hika?" He whined, removing his hands from the wall and wrapping them around Hikaru's neck instead.

Hikaru flushed slightly, realizing they were both in nothing but their boxers and his heartbeat quickened at the feeling of Kaoru's bare skin against his own. Of course, they put on their little act for Host Club, and they slept in the same bed every night but they were almost always fully clothed. It was in moments like these, when Kaoru teased him like this to capture his attention, that Hikaru truly began to question his own sanity.

The Hitachiin twins had always been close, but it hadn't been until they started their little act for Host Club that their feelings had started to get confusing. They hadn't really done much about it yet, or even really talked about it with each other, but every once in a while when they got close like this and no girls were around to witness it, they both knew their feelings had surpassed just being brotherly. Though what they were exactly, neither of them really knew. Hikaru sighed, trying his best to focus as he looked at Kaoru who was watching him with big innocent eyes, "It could've just been a lucky guess."

"Two days in a row?" Kaoru protested, "Hikaru, there's no way she was just guessing. Besides," he moved one of his hands up into Hikaru's hair, tugging on it lightly to remind him of how he was messing around with Dove earlier, "I can tell you like her too. You wouldn't have been teasing her if you didn't."

Hikaru took in a deep breath, trying to calm his racing heart and ignore the shiver that went down his spine while Kaoru played with his hair, "Yeah I mean, she's okay I guess." He thought about Dove's hair, how impossibly long it was and how soft it had felt both times he had touched it and about how every time she looked at him her big green eyes got even bigger. But it was hard to think about anything with Kaoru pressed up against him the way he was. He brought his own hands up to grab Kaoru's and he removed them from around his neck, placing them down at his side and taking a step back to get some clarity but not letting go just yet. "I don't know Kao. Yeah okay she's cute, and she's kind of feisty too and I guess I like that but I'm just not sure I'm ready to let someone into our world that easily."

Kaoru smiled, squeezing Hikaru's hands, "I never said we had to let her into our world right away. Just that we should give her a chance. We can test her more if that's what you need to believe it, but I really think there's something about her. You even said it yourself - she's different."

Hikaru nodded, squeezing back before releasing Kaoru's hands and reaching for his tropical costume again, "Okay, we'll give her a chance. But we're absolutely testing her more."

* * *

Dove had been so lost in her daydreams, that she almost didn't hear the final bell when it rang. The classroom was almost completely empty by the time she realized class was over and she quickly shoved her books into her bag and rushed down the hallways for the third time that day. She'd already told her Aunt that morning that she was going to be staying after school again today, so she was able to go straight to host club.

She threw open the doors when she got there, not wasting any time. But she was stopped in her tracks when she saw what was inside and her jaw dropped open in shock. The room looked completely different than it had the previous day. She had no idea how they'd done it but it looked like an actual indoor rainforest. There were trees, and tropical flowers and there were even _animals_. There were all kinds of tropical birds and butterflies and she could have sworn she'd even seen a large snake making its way up one of the trees. This was absolutely incredible.

What was even more incredible, she noticed with her heart sinking to the bottom of her stomach again, was that all the Hosts - with the exception of the new one Haruhi - were wearing tropical themed outfits and were shirtless. Hikaru and Kaoru were _shirtless_. Dove quickly hid herself behind one of the large trees and peered out from behind it, breathing heavily while studying every inch of the twins bare skin. They had looked lean in their school uniforms, but beneath those blue blazers, they had strong arms, and very well defined abs.

Not that Dove hadn't seen guys shirtless before, but she didn't think anything up to this moment could really compare to two super hot shirtless twins with just the right amount of muscle and their arms around each other. She pulled her head back behind the tree and slid down it to sit on the floor. She didn't think she could really look at them for any longer without going over to talk to them and she didn't want to do that, she wanted them to notice her not the other way around.

But seeing them like that was bringing back her earlier daydreams and she couldn't help but think about Hikaru pulling her head roughly back by her ponytail again so that he could press his lips into her lips while his body was against hers, pressing her back into this very tree. And then she thought of Kaoru, and how he would be gentler than Hikaru. He would run his hands through her hair lightly, and let his fingertips softly brush her cheek, only to press one small, sweet kiss against her lips...

Dove sighed, absentmindedly twirling a strand of hair around her fingers, lost in thoughts of shirtless twins and sweet kisses. That was, until she heard someone say her name and her eyes snapped open, her face turning red as she looked up at Tamaki who was standing over her. "You made it to Host club!" He said happily, but tilted his head, giving her a confused look, "What are you doing sitting on the ground?"

"I um... I got dizzy, I didn't want to fall over so I sat down. I'm okay now though." She said quickly, pushing herself off the ground.

"Do you want me to introduce you to the other hosts? You can pick a favorite, or just enjoy all of us!" Tamaki grabbed her hand and spun her around in a little circle.

Dove shook her head nervously, she didn't want to be introduced to the twins, and she didn't think she could even handle being that close to them dressed as they were right now. "No, that's okay, I've already met a few of them. But thanks!"

Tamaki shrugged, "Okay well, just so you know, Host Club is sponsoring a party next week. It's a formal party with dancing, we rented a hall and everything."

A dance... that was _perfect_. If there was one thing Dove was good at, it was dancing. Not to mention, this would give her a chance for the twins to see her in something other than this horrible school uniform. All she needed was to make friends with a few of the girls here, because there was no way she was showing up to a dance alone. "Sounds great, I'll be there!" Tamaki grinned at her and then excused himself - his customers were waiting.

Making her way out from behind the tree, Dove scanned the room for Honey and spotted him and Mori in front of a small table with two girls. This was perfect, she would hang out with Honey, and befriend these girls while she was at it. "Hey Honey, Mori," Dove waved at them, leaning against the side of the table, "Mind if I chill here with you guys for a while?"

"Of course!" Honey said, beaming at her and tossing a flower necklace at her, "There, now you're tropical too!"

She couldn't help but laugh, and she decided it was most likely impossible to ever be in a bad mood around Honey - she was glad she had decided to choose him as her host. She wasn't interested in him romantically at all, but that's not what she was here for anyway. She was here because she needed some positive friends to surround herself with. And that reminded her, she needed some girlfriends and fast. Turning around to face the girls who were currently swooning over Honey and Mori, she put on her most charming smile and held out her hand to the girl closest to her with light brown hair that was slightly past her shoulders, "Hey, I'm Dove. He really is adorable, huh?"

The girl nodded furiously and Dove swore she could practically see hearts in her eyes, "The cutest!" She gushed, giggling, and grasping Dove's hand lightly, "I'm Kaiya, and that's Rei." She pointed to the girl with short black pigtails who hadn't taken her eyes off Mori for even a second but managed a small wave of acknowledgement. Kaiya tugged on Dove's hand to pull her down closer and she leaned towards her and whispered, "She's _really_ into Mori, so if you like him, just... don't let her know."

"No worries, he's not really my type." She assured Kaiya, and grabbed an empty chair, sitting down next to her.

Kaiya grinned conspiratorially, still talking in hushed tones so the boys wouldn't over hear, "Who do you like then? Personally, Honey-Senpai is my favorite, although I think Kyoya is super cool and mysterious, and the Hitachiin twins are sooo dreamy." She sighed softly, looking off into space for a minute, obviously lost in daydreams before grabbing Dove's hands and squeezing them lightly, "So, who's your type then? Come on, you have to tell me if we're going to be friends!"

Dove had been unsure about telling this girl the truth and had originally been planning on lying and telling her she liked Honey or Tamaki and just figuring out how to explain it to them later if they found out. That was until she had said the word "friends". This girl - Kaiya - actually wanted to be friends with her. And wasn't that exactly what she had wanted? Though it seemed way too easy, Kaiya also seemed pretty harmless and she didn't seem to have bad intentions. And Dove just didn't feel right starting her new friendship off with a lie. So, she would tell her the truth.

"Well, to be honest..." she lowered her voice now as well, leaning closer to Kaiya, "I mean don't tell anyone okay? But um.." she bit her lip, her eyes shifting down slightly to stare at the ground, "I think I might really like Hikaru and Kaoru. Like, actually really like them. They have no idea I'm even here, at Host Club I mean, but we're in a few classes together and they've walked me to fifth period the past couple days and Hikaru was playing with my hair today and oh, I don't know! It's all so confusing!" She looked back up at Kaiya nervously, taking a deep breath. She hadn't meant to tell her all that much, and she was pretty surprised that she did, but it just kind of came out. She had really needed another girl to talk to more than she realized and it had felt good to admit her feelings out loud, even if that did make them more real.

Kaiya squealed, causing a few people to glance their way and she placed a hand over her mouth, giggling. "That's so cute!" She exclaimed, and Dove looked around nervously, quickly grabbing Kaiya's hand and dragging her to a couch in an empty corner of the room where people would be less likely to hear them. "Sorry!" Kaiya said, lowering her voice again, "But was Hikaru really playing with your hair? I am so jealous! Any of the girls in here would absolutely die if any one of the hosts touched them, and the twins almost never touch anyone. Well, except for each other." She giggled again, and Dove couldn't help but glance over at Hikaru and Kaoru who were on the opposite side of the room with a group of girls, embracing each other again.

Dove felt her face flush as she looked back over at Kaiya, "Well, not exactly. He pulled on it, pretty hard actually, to wake me up after class." She brought her hand up and rubbed the back of her head underneath her ponytail, it was still a little sore, "But he didn't let go right after I woke up either. He was messing with my ponytail and playing around. Oh! And him and Kaoru saved me a seat next to them, I sat with them in two of our classes together."

Kaiya grinned, suppressing another squeal and gave Dove's hands a squeeze, "I don't know enough to say about Kaoru, but it seems like Hikaru is totally into you! Which one of them do you like more? Or does it not matter to you either way? I would take either of them, honestly." She grinned mischievously and Dove thought about what she had said for a minute.

"Well I... I don't know really." She admitted honestly, she really hadn't given much thought to who she liked more. But she also knew she didn't like that Kaiya had said it wouldn't matter to her which twin she got, as if they were one and the same rather than separate people. When really, they were so different. Even after only a few days of knowing them that much was obvious to Dove. "They're very different. Hikaru is loud and full of energy and admittedly a little rude but he always makes me laugh. Kaoru well, he's been a little harder for me to figure out but he seems like he's the biggest sweetheart and he always knows just the right thing to say. I guess I don't know who I like more, but it does matter, it definitely matters."

Kaiya looked a little shocked and was staring at Dove as if she had two heads, "Wow..." she said softly, her eyes practically sparkling with delight, "You really do like them!" Suddenly her face got very serious and she made one of her hands into a fist and slammed it into the palm of her other hand, "Right! We've got to do something about this! And I know exactly what we're going to do!"

Dove raised an eyebrow, a little anxious at the determined look in Kaiya's eyes, "Why do we have to do anything about this? Can't I just keep making up imaginary scenarios in my head that will never actually happen in real life instead?"

"Absolutely not! For all you know Hikaru or Kaoru could be your _soulmate_! If we don't do anything now, you'll never know and then you'll miss your chance. And all your life you'll look but you'll never find love and then one day you'll be an old lady sitting in your empty house all alone wondering why you never took the chance for love when you had it!" Kaiya put her head in her hands, shaking it back and forth, "So tragic..." she sighed, looking up and pleading with Dove, "Just let me help you!"

Dove ran a hand through her hair, shaking her head unsure if she should laugh or not, "Fine fine, you can help. So dramatic, damn." She had a feeling she was going to regret this, but she also didn't think Kaiya would give up either.

"Yes! True love lives to see another day!" Kaiya exclaimed, "Okay, so the plan is simple. Tomorrow when you come to Host Club, you'll request Tamaki, I will too - he's the biggest flirt so he will work best for what we need to do. We'll make sure we're sitting on the couches over there," she pointed at a couple couches next to the small table where Hikaru and Kaoru were sitting, "The twins almost always sit over there, and Tamaki is usually next to them anyway. We'll make a big deal of laughing and fawning over Tamaki and be extra loud about it. That shouldn't be hard because all of Tamaki's fans are always screaming anyway. Hikaru and Kaoru will come over to see what's going on as they usually do so they can mess with Tamaki. Obviously they'll notice you, you're kinda hard to miss with all that hair. It might not get a reaction from Kaoru but Hikaru is the jealous type. If he likes you - and I totally think he does - he'll be mad that you requested Tamaki instead of him and Kaoru and he'll storm off or cause a scene and then you can run after him and tell him how you feel!"

Dove was nothing if not concerned. This could backfire on her in so many ways. What if the twins saw her with Tamaki but didn't care? Or worse yet, what if they saw her with him, and thought that meant she didn't like them and decided not to pursue her? Besides she didn't want Hikaru to be mad at her, nor was she ready for him to know how she felt. She didn't even completely know how she felt just yet. Not to mention, what about Kaoru? If she told Hikaru how she felt, wouldn't that mean she was choosing him over Kaoru? She wasn't sure that was what she wanted. Then again, she did want them to notice her at Host Club. And choosing Tamaki as her host could be easily explained since he was the one who invited her in the first place. And she didn't really have to tell Hikaru how she felt, maybe she could just see what his reaction was and figure it out from there. That was it, she was decided. She took in a deep breath and nodded at Kaiya, "Alright, let's do it."

* * *

The next day came way too soon and Dove woke up with knots in her stomach and anxiety that only got progressively worse as the day went on. She was seriously doubting her decision to go along with Kaiya's crazy plan but knew it was too late to back out now. She was such a bundle of nerves that she wasn't able to focus in class at all - not that she usually paid attention to begin with - but at least she had too much nervous energy to fall asleep. She was almost relieved when she saw Haruhi sitting in what had been her seat by the twins during second period again and she happily hid herself away in the corner, not even glancing in their direction because she was worried her resolve would break if she did.

She purposely showed up a few minutes late to fourth period so that she wouldn't have to talk to either of the twins, earning her a pretty nasty glare from the teacher as she slid into her seat in the front row next to Kaoru. She was super focused on counting the tiles on the floor to distract her mind all through class, and hadn't even realized she had been furiously shaking her leg until she felt a soft hand lightly pressing down on her knee at the end of class.

Her heart was racing as she looked down first, noting that her dress had rode up slightly from all the movement and the hand was directly on her thin white stockings and then looked up very reluctantly, her wide green eyes meeting Kaoru's concerned golden ones. He tilted his head to the side adorably and gave her knee a little squeeze, "You okay, little bird?" She nearly melted as he called her by the nickname he had given her and her knee felt as if someone was literally burning her skin where his hand still rested, "You've been shaking your leg so hard I thought it might fall right off."

She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out and she just nodded, placing her hand on top of his intending to remove it from her leg, but somehow ended up lacing her fingers between his instead. He gave her a small, albeit a little confused smile and she looked down again at their interlocked fingers, horrified. She bolted upright from her chair, pulling her hand away and knocking her books off the desk in the process, "I.. um.. I'm not feeling so well. I think I'm gonna go see the nurse." She hurriedly gathered her books off the floor and rushed out the door before he could say anything else.

That hadn't entirely been a lie either. After that little encounter with Kaoru she was feeling more than a little queasy and she had every intention to spend next period at the nurses office because she didn't think she could face the twins again just yet, and she needed to compose herself before it was time for Host Club. She told the nurse she had a bad headache and ended up spending not only fifth but sixth period as well sitting on one of the beds in the nurses office hugging her knees to her chest and trying to get a handle on her own thoughts and emotions. She hated the effect these boys had on her, and she had thought she had been getting better at controlling it but clearly after what happened during fourth period she had been so very wrong.

Luckily, by the time the final bell rang, she was feeling much calmer mostly because she knew this would all be over with soon enough. The waiting had been the worst part of it all and now that it was over she thanked the nurse and headed to Music Room 3 with much more confidence and resolve than she had felt all day.

She got there rather quickly, she was learning her way around the school (or at least how to get to Music Room 3) faster than she had thought she would and she waited outside for a few minutes until her new friend arrived. Kaiya was all smiles, clearly excited to put her plan into action. She place her hands on Dove's shoulders and looked at her very seriously, "You ready? You haven't changed your mind have you?" Obviously some of Dove's earlier anxiety was still showing on her face but she she shook her head, trying her best to project confident energy.

"No, I haven't changed my mind." She twirled a strand of her hair around her fingers grinning sheepishly, "Okay, so maybe I almost did, but I'm ready now I promise."

Kaiya smiled warmly at her and held out her hand which Dove took gratefully before she pushed open the doors of Music Room 3, "Now or never right?"

Dove nodded, taking in a deep breath as ready as she was ever going to be, "Now or never." She agreed, walking into the Host Club, her usual confidence finally building itself up. That was, until she saw what was going on inside. The new host, Haruhi, was dancing with one of the customers and Mori was spinning Honey around in circles. But that wasn't the problem. The problem was that for some reason, Tamaki wasn't with customers being his usual shamelessly flirty self. Instead, he was in the corner sulking by himself, watching Haruhi and the girl dancing. Dove tightened her grip on Kaiya's hand and looked over at her nervously, "What do we do now?" She whispered, hoping her friend had an answer because she sure didn't.

Kaiya put a finger up to her cheek, pursing her lips as she looked at the scene before her, "Hmm..." She snapped her fingers, "I got it! Tamaki seems to be upset he isn't being included in the dancing. All you have to do is go up to him and tell him you'll be his dance partner, the twins are standing close enough that they'll overhear you and it will work just as well if not better than our original plan!"

Dove was unsure, the change in plans making some of her earlier doubts come back, "I don't know Kaiya, maybe we should just wait until tomorrow..."

Kaiya shook her head, releasing Dove's hand and giving her a little push forward, "No way! Go on, you can do this I promise!"

Dove nodded, though not entirely believing it she kept moving forward anyway until she was standing directly in front of Tamaki in his corner. He looked up at her, a serious air of gloom surrounding him and she tried her best to put a believable smile on her face, "Um, hey Tamaki." She began, tugging at the bottom of her ponytail, "You know, if you're feeling left out, I'd be more than happy to be your practice partner for the dance. I'm a really good dancer. I took lessons back home and everything." She was pleased that her voice had come out completely level and she sounded like her usual confident self rather than the nervous wreck she had been all day.

However, Tamaki didn't even have a chance to respond. From directly behind her, Hikaru and Kaoru both said together to Tamaki, "Why so gloomy boss?" Dove froze, watching Tamaki's depressive state get even worse.

"I bet it's because he wanted to be the one Haruhi practices with." Hikaru said, making Dove a little curious despite herself. Why would Tamaki want to practice dancing with Haruhi? It was clearly obvious that he wasn't gay, so why should he care who danced with the smaller boy?

But her musings were cut short as she heard Kaoru's voice this time, "I think you may be right." He said, and she could almost hear the smirk in his voice, "But he's way too tall to stand in as a woman."

Tamaki said nothing to any of them. Not responding to Dove's request to dance with him, nor the twin's teasing. And Dove stayed just as quiet, still not even moving, that was until Hikaru grabbed her arm and dragged her along behind him to a spot a few feet away from Tamaki and Kaoru. "I knew that had to be you when I saw that big mess of hair piled on top of your head, but I have to say I'm a little surprised to see you here. Especially trying to get Tamaki's attention."

She wasn't sure if she was imagining it or not but Dove could have sworn Hikaru was pissed. His upper lip was curled into the smallest of scowls and he still hadn't released his grip on her arm. In fact, he was squeezing it pretty tightly. "Could you let go of me please? That kind of hurts." Hikaru dropped his hand and crossed his arms, still looking at Dove clearly waiting for her to say more. She rubbed her arm, and then brought her hand up to her hair self-consciously. She was well aware it was a mess of tangles but she wasn't exactly thrilled he had called her out on it. But that's not what mattered at the moment. "Thank you. And I wasn't trying to get Tamaki's attention. He's the first person I met here. He showed me around the school, and invited me to this club. He was nice to me and he seemed upset so I was just trying to return the favor." She had told him what was as close to the truth as she possibly could, and hoped that explanation would be good enough.

Hikaru seemed to be considering her words, and after about a minute his scowl was gone but he still had his arms crossed. Clearly, he still wanted to know more. "So you've been coming to Host Club? How many times have you been here, who've you been seeing?"

Dove shrugged, as if it was no big deal, "Yeah, this is my third time here, I've come every day after school. So far I've only seen Honey." She paused, remembering something, "Well, and Mori I guess because they're always together, but he doesn't really say much so I'm not too sure that counts."

Hikaru's scowl had returned and now he glared at Dove as well, "So you like Honey then? I guess that makes sense, you're both around the same size after all."

Dove couldn't help the small annoyed laugh that escaped her lips. He was being unreasonable, and mildly rude as well. "No, I don't like Honey. Well, I mean I do like him but not in the way that you mean. He's sweet, I thought we could be friends. Why do you even care?"

"I thought we were friends." Hikaru said, ignoring her question, "If you've been coming here every day there's no way you didn't know me and Kaoru were hosts too. Why didn't you request us?"

Dove returned his glare now. She knew the whole point of this had been to see if Hikaru would get jealous but now that he had she found herself getting annoyed. What right did he have after all? Every time she'd seen him and Kaoru at Host Club they were always surrounded by girls, "It's not like either of you thought to invite me here." She fired back at him, admittedly a little harsher than she had intended, "Besides, every time I saw you, you were surrounded by a group of adoring fans. Kind of figured you'd be too busy to bother with me so I didn't bother with you."

Hikaru's eyes widened, his arms dropping to his sides and his scowl dropping right along with them. _Ouch_ , he thought to himself, _that was harsh._ He had known Dove was feisty, but he hadn't expected her to have a temper that rivaled his own. "We wouldn't have been too busy for you." He said, his voice softening now, "And it's not like we purposely didn't invite you. I didn't take you for the kind of girl who would be okay with being just another groupie. And I know Kaoru wanted to get to know you outside of Host Club because he told me so himself."

Dove just stood there for a minute in shock, blinking up at him. She hadn't been expecting this. Sure Kaiya had suspected, and she had hoped. But never in a million years did she ever really think she stood a chance with either of the Hitachiin twins, let alone both of them. And she wasn't sure if she was just crazy, but it seemed like he'd just admitted to her in his own way that he liked her, and Kaoru wanted to get to know her. Suddenly, she had an idea. "Well, since I'm here now anyway, I'd like to make a request. I know they usually go through Kyoya, but I'd like to make my request to you personally."

Hikaru was just watching her, his expression unreadable now, "Go on." He said, waiting.

She took in a deep breath, there was no turning back now. "At the Host Club's party on Monday, save the last dance for me." She looked down at the floor, unable to look directly at Hikaru while waiting for his answer.

After what felt like the longest thirty seconds in history, Dove felt Hikaru's hand grip her chin his thumb underneath and his soft index finger just barely grazing her bottom lip as he tilted her head up to look at him. She hadn't realized he'd moved but he was standing closer to her now, too close, but she refused to let herself look away. "Done." Was all he said, staring into her eyes for a second more before turning around and walking away way too soon, leaving Dove feeling cold not realizing the warmth that had been coming from his hand and his body until he had left. But he had agreed. She was going to dance with him at the party. She knew she could work this to her advantage, and that's exactly what she was going to do.

* * *

That night, Hikaru sat on the bed he shared with his brother, staring out the large window in their room, lost in thought. He was confused, and having trouble figuring out what exactly it was he was feeling. Kaoru was the one who was good with emotions and more than ever he needed him to hurry the hell up and get out of the shower already. He had half a mind to burst into the bathroom and join him in there, but he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to cross that line just yet. Besides, he had already crossed one line today that he couldn't uncross. Or, at the very least, he had made that line a little more blurry.

Dove Kobayashi. That girl really knew how to get under his skin, in more ways than one. He still didn't completely buy that she was really able to tell him and Kaoru apart, but even he had to admit she certainly was very good at guessing. He had been furious when he'd seen her with Tamaki, offering to dance with him. He was still fuming over the fact that she'd even been at Host Club in the first place - he didn't want her there. He didn't want her dancing with Tamaki, or eating cake with Honey. She was supposed to be _his_ toy, his and Kaoru's no one else's.

He groaned in frustration, flipping over to lay on his stomach and smashing his head into a pillow. This was infuriating, it was bad enough he couldn't make sense of his feelings for Kaoru and now along comes this girl who makes his brain hurt and his blood boil it just wasn't fair. He couldn't handle all this conflict happening inside him. And where the hell was Kaoru anyway? How long of a shower did he need?

As if on cue, he heard the door to their bedroom open, and he peeked up from his pillow only to see Kaoru, wearing nothing but a long white towel wrapped around his waist. He had seen Kaoru like this nearly every day of their lives so why did it make his heart race? He groaned again, shoving his head back into the pillow and beating the bed frame with his fist until he felt the bed sink down and an identical hand grab his own, stopping his fist right before its next impact. "What's going on inside that pretty little head of yours, Hikaru?" Kaoru asked, opening his fist and slipping his soft fingers between his own where they fit perfectly.

"Don't wanna talk about it." Hikaru grumbled into the pillow, but Kaoru just laughed lightly.

"If you don't talk about it, you're not going to feel any better." Kaoru insisted, tugging on his hand so that he would sit up. Reluctantly, Hikaru abandoned his pillow, pushing himself up so that he was propped up on the bed, leaning against the hand Kaoru wasn't holding. "Is it about what happened with Dove during Host Club?" He ventured a guess, laying down next to Hikaru, holding his head up on his arm in a similar fashion and searching his eyes for answers.

Hikaru sighed, he couldn't hold anything back from Kaoru and they both knew it. "Maybe." He offered, sliding himself a little closer to Kaoru and leaning his forehead against his as if that would take away his growing headache.

Kaoru smiled, he knew he would have to work for it if he wanted to get anything out of Hikaru. "I was surprised to see her there too, you know. What did you talk about? You seemed stressed."

Hikaru sighed again, flipping over onto his back, squeezing Kaoru's hand a little too hard, his scowl returning. "She wants to dance with me." Kaoru didn't say anything more, simply raising an eyebrow at his brother and waiting patiently, "At the party next week, she said she wasn't flirting with Tamaki, or Honey and that she wants me to save the last dance for her."

"And? Did you say you would?" He asked gently, pressing for information but doing so cautiously. Hikaru had never been great with emotions or talking about his feelings and had to be handled with care. But if he didn't ask at all, Hikaru would never figure out how he was really feeling on his own.

Hikaru grabbed his pillow again and held it against his face, "Yes..." he mumbled into the pillow before tossing it across the room where it hit the wall with a smack, a few feathers floating into the air, "I don't even know why. She makes me so..." he made an angry noise, that sounded a little like a growl and Kaoru laughed out loud earning him a glare from Hikaru.

Kaoru caressed his brother's cheek lightly with his fingertips, making his glare disappear as quickly as it had come, "I do. It's because I was right, you like her." He smiled, a little sadly, "And obviously she likes you too. I kind of thought she liked me but..." he shrugged, grabbing a pillow from his side of the bed and positioning it under Hikaru's head before flipping over onto his back as well to stare at the ceiling.

Hikaru frowned, he wasn't sure if what Kaoru said was true. He didn't think he liked Dove, he just knew she made him feel things, things he didn't want to feel. But if there was one thing he did know, better than anything else it was Kaoru, and he could tell Kaoru definitely did like her. And he hated to see Kaoru even a little bit upset, especially if he was in any way responsible for his brother feeling that way. "Maybe she does. Maybe she likes both of us." He briefly wondered what that would mean for the two of them, how that would affect their relationship with each other but pushed the thought aside. Nothing in the entire world could ever come between him and Kaoru, he wouldn't let it. "I have an idea." He said suddenly, sitting up and looking over at Kaoru, "Let's test her one more time. At the dance, you pretend to be me when it's time for the final dance of the night. And if she knows you're not me, we'll know there's got to be more to it than just guessing."

Kaoru looked up at his brother and shrugged, "Alright, we can do that. But how will that help us figure out if she likes me too?"

Hikaru grinned mischievously, "That's all you, Kaoru. Do what you need to, it won't bother me." His grin faded and he looked down at Kaoru with nothing but pure love shining in his eyes, "Whatever feelings I might or might not have for Dove, as long as I have you Kaoru, I don't care what happens. You can have her, or I'll even share her with you for all I care."

Kaoru's eyes widened and he looked at Hikaru curiously. His brother, who got jealous of literally everyone would be willing to share a girl he liked with him? He didn't even know if he was up for that, or what that would mean for him and Hikaru, but it certainly made him think. "I'm not too sure Dove would be okay with that." He laughed, tugging on Hikaru's sleeve so that he would lay back down, and wrapping his arms around his neck, resting his head under his chin and closing his eyes. "I'm tired, Hikaru, let's just sleep for now."

Hikaru rested his head on top of Kaoru's, breathing in the sweet scent of coconut from his shampoo, his heart racing again. "Okay, but first do me a favor?"

Kaoru opened his eyes, and lifted them slightly to look up at Hikaru, "Hmm?" He asked, yawning.

Hikaru tugged very carefully at the little knot holding up Kaoru's towel, "Put some clothes on."

* * *

The majority of Friday passed by pretty uneventfully for Dove, mostly because they had tests in nearly every class that she had been completely unaware of since she'd spent all of her classes sleeping or agonizing over what she was going to do about the twins. So rather than getting to spend her time talking with Hikaru and Kaoru, she spent most of the day staring blankly at words on pages that eventually all just blurred together. She decided on making up answers to the best of her abilities, which weren't very great. She might not have been able to physically skip class anymore, but that didn't mean she was there mentally on any level.

During fifth period, Kaoru finally came over to her once class was over, placing his hands on top of the desk and leaning over giving her a small smile, "So how do you think you did? I thought it was pretty easy for the most part."

She laughed at him, grabbing her bag and standing up so that she was eye level with him, raising her eyebrow, "That's a joke, right?"

"I... no." Kaoru shook his head, looking slightly hurt.

Dove sighed, pulling a few more strands of hair out of her hair tie adding to all that was already out of her ponytail due to her messing with it all day out of stress from all these tests, "I didn't even know we were having a test, if that answers your question."

Kaoru frowned, studying her with a look of concern on his face, "You really should try to pay more attention. I don't want to see you fail, or get in trouble." Cautiously, he lifted his hand towards her face and took all the loose strands of hair on one side and brushed them behind her ear, "I could help you study, if you want. We can make it fun, you know, go out somewhere or something..." he lifted his hand to the other side of her face but she pushed it away before he could fix that side of her hair.

"I don't need any help." She snapped, the frustration that had been building up all day from having to take so many tests she wasn't even remotely prepared for finally coming out, and causing her to overlook the fact that Kaoru had basically just asked her out. "I'm not stupid or anything okay? I just hate school, I think it's pointless. I'm only even here because I don't have a choice. I never used to go to school back home." In her irritation, she had accidentally let slip more information about herself than she had wanted to and that realization made her come to her senses and she was immediately horrified at how rude she had just been to Kaoru.

The hurt look had returned to Kaoru's face, but he'd been dealing with Hikaru's temper for long enough to know that her anger wasn't really directed at him. And he wasn't ready to give up just yet. "Well, if you have to be here either way, you might as well make the most of it even if you hate it right?" He lifted his hand again, and brushed the still loose strands of hair behind her other ear, "Let me help you."

Dove blinked at him, unable to focus on anything except that Kaoru hadn't moved his hand and she could feel his fingertips brushing against the side of her neck as he twirled her loose hair. Suddenly, she decided that studying might not be so bad if it meant she got to spend even a second more with Kaoru, "I guess that would be okay." She felt a chill go straight down her spine as his fingers brushed her neck again and she took in a deep breath, "And I'm sorry. These tests today put me in a bad mood, and you're really the last person I wanted to take it out on."

He smiled, releasing her hair and moving his hand slowly from her neck to her collarbone, then her shoulder and down her arm to lightly grasp her hand, "I understand." He brought her hand up to his lips and pressed the softest kiss she had ever felt on the tips of her fingers. If it were physically possible, Dove was sure she would have been reduced to a puddle on the floor because she could only describe the feeling that kiss had given her as making her entire body melt. "There's no Host Club today because we're preparing for the party, so I'll see you Monday." Kaoru said before releasing her hand and leaving the classroom. Those boys sure did have a way of making her a speechless mess, and then leaving her alone to bring herself back to earth.

* * *

The weekend had come and went. Since Dove hadn't thought to get Kaiya's number and neither Hikaru nor Kaoru had asked for hers, she had no one to hang out with and spent the majority of her time unpacking all of her clothes, playing games on her phone and daydreaming about Hikaru's rough hands, and Kaoru's soft lips. It had felt like an eternity until it was finally Monday, and Dove made sure she had the extra bag she packed with her change of clothes for the party before she left for school.

Classes passed by in a blur, and she was disappointed to see that Hikaru and Kaoru weren't there. Haruhi was missing as well, apparently they had all been excused so that they could finish preparations for tonight's party. She was starting to realize just what a big deal the Host Club boys were at this school, even with the staff, and that made her even more appreciative of the attention the twins had been paying to her than she already was.

The final bell was music to her ears when it rang, and she along with nearly everyone else in the school rushed off to the restrooms or to find empty classrooms to change in. She had ended up in one of the science labs with three other girls, two of who, she didn't know and one she recognized as Kaiya's friend Rei. She gave her a friendly wave which the other girl returned and Dove realized while looking at Rei and then glancing over at the other girls that their dresses were much fancier, less revealing, and definitely more expensive than hers.

Oh well, there was nothing that could have been done about that. She didn't have a penny to her name, and hadn't felt comfortable asking her Aunt for money so she'd managed to dig out the only dress she had that wasn't a sundress. She only even had it because of one time when a couple of her friends that were a few years older than her had managed to get her a fake ID and sneak her into a club.

She studied herself in the small classroom mirror, ignoring the other girls who kept looking over at her but were trying to pretend that they weren't. Her dress was strapless, the top dipping down into a small v-shape showing off only a small amount of her breasts but way more than she knew was likely to be acceptable for this kind of party. It was form fitting, covered in blue and turquoise sequins and only reached down to her mid-thigh. It clung tight to her body, showing off curves that weren't visible in the dress she had to wear for school. As for her shoes, she was wearing a pair of old black converse because she didn't own a single pair of heels, and she had lost the sandals she had originally worn with this dress.

She felt out of place for sure, but she also felt more like herself than she had all week. So, that had to count for something. She also wasn't done just yet. As the other girls were all getting ready to head out the door, one with blonde hair wearing a fancy purple ball gown stopped to stand next to her and made it a point of looking her up and down. "You're not really going dressed like that are you?" She asked, false concern in her voice.

Dove rolled her eyes, she had known someone would say something to her about her outfit, so she wasn't really surprised, nor did she care. "Yes, as a matter of fact I am. Not everyone has mommy and daddy to buy them designer dresses."

The other girl giggled not phased in the slightest, "Well the next time you should just stay home, you look like a hooker."

Dover wrinkled her nose, looking the blonde girl up and down in the same way she had done to her before, "Maybe. But I bet you're just mad that you'll never have the body to pull off something like this." She smirked, placing her hands on her waist and running them slowly down her her thighs. The girl just scoffed, and stormed out, the other Dove didn't know followed after her but Rei stopped and smiled.

"Don't feel bad, she's rude to everyone. See you at the party." And then she was gone too, and Dove was all alone.

She sighed, she knew she was going to be late to the party, but she had to do something about her hair. So she took down her ponytail and sat there for the next twenty minutes brushing and detangling until finally it hung in loose waves, stopping a few inches above where her dress ended. She quickly put on some makeup and glanced at her reflection once more, a slight wave of sadness washing over her that she wasn't the kind of girl who wore fancy ball gowns or did well in school, but it passed as fast as it had come. At least she looked sexy, you couldn't be sexy in a ball gown.

* * *

Dove rushed down the halls, secretly glad she was wearing sneakers because there was no way she'd have been able to run in heels. She slowed down only when she saw a few other late people making their way towards the hall as well and followed them inside. Her mouth dropped open when she saw it - it was even fancier than she had ever seen Music Room 3. There must have been at least thirty musicians and there were chandeliers above her head that she was sure cost more money than she'd ever make in her entire life.

She wasn't that late after all, she realized. She had come in right at the end of Kyoya's speech, "Based on her dancing skills, one lucky young lady will be chosen as tonight's queen. The queen's reward will be a passionate kiss on the cheek from our king."

"Good luck to you, darlings." Tamaki added, and all the hosts left the stage to go join the guests and dance with the girls.

Dove couldn't help but laugh to herself - this entire thing was so very different from the kind of parties she was used to. It was like she had left the real world and entered an alternate fairytale universe and she wasn't entirely sure what to do about it. She looked around the room, stopping when she spotted Hikaru and Kaoru. They were wearing matching outfits, black pants and a checkered brown vest over a white dress shirt with a little green bow tie around their necks. Speaking of fairytales, those twins were nothing if not Prince Charming.

They were both also dancing with girls she realized, her little daydream shattering. Sighing, and reminding herself that they were only doing their job as hosts and that Hikaru at least had promised to dance with her, she made her way over to the extensive buffet tables at the back of the room. She wasn't sure just how much time had passed, or how much sushi she had eaten while watching everyone dance, and had just started on the deserts when she felt her feet being swept off the ground underneath her and before she knew it she was being carried bridal style and rushed through the hall so fast her head was spinning.

She was about to protest and demand to be put down right away until she glanced up and realized it was Hikaru carrying her. Her annoyance faded and she draped one of her arms around his shoulders, blinking up at him, and questioning him with her eyes. "We need your help with something." She raised an eyebrow at him as he headed up the stage and through a door to a different room, "Host Club business. We needed a girl's help and Kaoru thinks you can be trusted."

Still not fully satisfied with his explanation she let that last part sink in for a minute. Hikaru had said Kaoru trusted her, or at the very least considered her trustworthy and that thought made her heart happy. But the way he had said it... Clearly Hikaru didn't feel the same way. A small frown passed across her lips as they finally reached their destination, which was a changing room, and all of the hosts minus Tamaki and Haruhi were standing outside of it. Hikaru slid his arm out from underneath her legs letting them drop to the floor. "So what exactly did you take me away from all of this for?" She asked, holding up the cupcake that she had been about to eat before he had abducted her and passing it over to Honey who's face lit up with delight.

"We need you to do her makeup." Hikaru said, pointing at a large table which was covered in more makeup than she'd ever seen in her life.

"Her? Her who?" But she soon got her answer without anyone needing to say anything as a girl with long dark brown hair wearing a knee length, spaghetti strap purple dress stepped out of the changing room. They both stood there sizing each other up at first and Dove noticed that this girl looked very familiar. Suddenly, it clicked. " _Haruhi_?" She asked incredulously, and it all started to add up. Why Haruhi hadn't been willing to wear a topless tropical outfit like all the other boys, why Tamaki was so jealous of anyone who got close to Haruhi, and why she herself had gotten a little jealous every time she saw the twins talking and laughing with her. "I knew you were too pretty to be a boy."

Haruhi offered a small smile after that comment, though she still appeared concerned obviously not entirely welcoming the fact that now someone else knew her secret, "Dove, right? The girl who's always sleeping during class."

Dove brought her hand up to her forehead, dragging it down her face and sighing, not too thrilled that was what she was known for, "Just sit." She got behind Haruhi and lightly pushed her forward towards the chair by the makeup table and got to work before she could protest.

It only took her about ten minutes to give her a full face - she was fairly good at doing makeup, and she was keeping it light anyway. She had the feeling that Haruhi wasn't the kind of girl who would appreciate a lavish makeup style. Just as she was finishing up she heard Tamaki's voice as he approached the group, "Gentlemen! Here you all are. What are you doing? The guests are waiting for..." He stopped short as Haruhi stood up from the chair, his jaw dropping and his purple eyes growing so big Dove thought they might pop right out of his head.

"So, how'd I do?" Dove asked no one in particular. Tamaki just kept staring at Haruhi in shock, and even the twins had their eyes on her, making Dove slightly annoyed though she assumed that meant she had done a good job.

"My face feels heavy, and it's hard to walk in these shoes." Haruhi complained, walking forward awkwardly as she made her way out of the room.

"Good luck, Haruhi!" Hikaru and Kaoru called after her in unison before turning back around to look at Dove.

"Thank you for helping, we have a whole plan to help two people realize their feelings for each other and we couldn't do it without Haruhi looking like a real girl." Kaoru explained.

"That's... actually really nice." She said, a slight tone of shock in her voice.

"No need to sound so surprised. We're nice guys you know..." Hikaru huffed, "By the way you know you can't tell anyone right? About Haruhi I mean."

"She won't tell anyone, Hikaru." Kaoru said with confidence, leaning his arm on his brother's shoulder.

Dove nodded, "Her secret is safe with me. Now, I think I'm gonna get back to those tables filled with deserts before they're all gone." She glanced over at Honey, grinning, "Wanna join me?"

"Of course!" Honey exclaimed, trying to jump onto Dove's back like he would normally do with others but knocking her over, having overlooked the fact that there wasn't much of a height difference between them again.

Dove laughed, picking herself up off the ground and slinging an arm around Honey's shoulder, glancing back at Hikaru and Kaoru, the former looking mildly annoyed at the attention she was showing Honey even if it was only friendly, "Don't forget your promise, Hikaru." She said softly, winking at him before heading back towards the hall with Honey to overdose on sugar.

* * *

After her brief stint helping out the Host Club boys with their crazy mission, Dove had spent the rest of the dance raiding the desert tables with Honey. Between the two of them, they had managed to eat about two-thirds of everything on the table, with a few people watching in shock wondering how two people so very small could eat so very many sweets. "Come on Dove-Chan, let's dance!" Honey said, tossing one more cookie in his mouth and grabbing Dove's hands spinning around in circles.

Dove was on such a sugar rush that she couldn't stop laughing as she happily spun around with Honey, "I have so much energy right now, I don't even know what to do with it all!" She was suddenly very glad that this party wasn't anything like what she was used to. Instead of being drunk and high on alcohol and weed, she was drunk on sugar and high on life. And she was dancing with an adorable boy who wanted nothing more than friendship from her, rather than some random guy she'd just met who would be persistently trying to get into her pants. She was having such a good time, she almost didn't hear Tamaki when he announced the last dance of the night was about to begin.

"Ladies and gentlemen. It is now time for us to begin the final dance of this evening's festivities." Tamaki's voice could be heard all around the dance hall, and Honey stopped mid spin, tugging Dove towards the doors that led outside.

"Come on! The final dance is outside, under the cherry blossoms," Honey's eyes were almost sparkling and he grinned big as he spotted the other hosts and stopped a few feet away from where the Hitachiin twins were standing on the little outdoor deck. "More romantic." He said glancing in their direction and then back at a Dove, winking at her.

"The last waltz of the night has been chosen by the host club for this couple." Tamaki said, and a spotlight went on, illuminating a couple on the grounds underneath the trees, whom Dove could only assume was the couple the hosts had been trying to help earlier. As the music started and everyone began to dance, Honey gave Dove's hand a little squeeze and nodded in the direction behind her. She turned her head and couldn't help the blush that crept up her cheeks as she saw Kaoru walking towards her, and Honey walked off to watch the couple dance from the balcony.

"Hey." He said shyly, holding his hand out to her, "As requested I'm all yours now, if you'll have me. May I have this dance?"

With the heart warming way he'd worded it, that sweet musical tone in his voice, and the slight look of longing in his eyes, Dove had half a mind to just take his hand and say yes. And she almost did. Almost. But she had caught on to the twins little game of switching places they were playing with her, and she had a feeling they were trying to see if she could tell the difference between them though she wasn't quite sure why. "Kaoru..." she whispered, offering him a small smile and taking his outstretched hand in hers simply because she couldn't help herself, "I'd have been more than happy to dance with you, and I wish you had asked me any other time during the night. But this dance belongs only to Hikaru."

The expression on Kaoru's face was unreadable. It was a mixture of happy and sad all in one with a twinge of longing still in his eyes, "Of course." He said, smiling back at her and gesturing for Hikaru to come over with his free hand. He took Hikaru's hand in the one that wasn't already holding Dove's and silently lifted both of them up, placing their hands together so that Dove and Hikaru were now holding hands instead. And then Kaoru was gone, leaning against the balcony with the other hosts who were still watching the couple they had helped.

Hikaru didn't say anything, he just pulled Dove close against his body, bringing her hands up to rest on his shoulders, and placing both of his own on her hips. He gripped them tightly, making her knees feel weak as he held her in place so that she couldn't pull away from him even if she had wanted to. But pulling away from him was literally the last thing in the world she wanted to do. She couldn't even think straight, being this close to Hikaru was like one of her daydreams had finally become a reality. She could feel the hard muscles of his abs against her chest even through his shirt, and as she wrapped her arms around his neck she could feel how amazingly soft his auburn hair was on her fingers. She rested her head on his chest and breathed in deeply - he smelled like some amazing mixture of pine trees and citrusy fruits and if she was being totally honest just pure masculinity.

"You knew Kaoru wasn't me." A statement, not a question. He swayed slowly back and forth to the music with Dove in his arms, and she was grateful he had such a strong grip on her because she feared she would collapse if he let go. "How?" He removed one of his hands from her waist and grabbed her chin, lifting her head up so she had no choice but to look at him as he searched her eyes for answers.

His own eyes looked troubled, and Dove knew she had to choose her words carefully. "Because you're you, and Kaoru is Kaoru."

Simple, her answer had been so simple and it frustrated Hikaru, he needed to know more. He needed to know how this girl who barely knew him was so easily able to tell the difference between him and Kaoru when no one else had ever been able to do so. "Elaborate." He demanded, sliding his hand back down to her waist and pulling her in even closer so that every inch of her body was pressed against his and her feet were directly between his and they were barely moving now.

Dove's heart was beating so fast now that she felt it would be likely to burst right out of her chest or explode at any moment. She couldn't even think straight, how was she supposed to explain anything to him if he insisted on keeping her this close? But she knew she didn't have much of a choice, she could tell how important this was to him and she also suspected he wasn't going to let her go until she told him.

She bit her lip, trying to remember how to breathe, "Well, it's just a whole lot of little things really. You part your hair on different sides, you always sit up straight, but Kaoru slouches a little. And Kaoru has a tiny freckle, just here," she removed one of her hands from his neck briefly to point underneath her right eye, "But it's more than just small physical differences. Your voice is louder, Kaoru's is lighter, almost musical. Sometimes you have a bad attitude and a little bit of a temper, but Kaoru is always calm and composed. And when you touch me," She paused, not sure if she should go ahead with saying this but figuring it was too late to turn back now, "You're rough and dominant and just take what you want. Kaoru is sweet and gentle and such a very big tease."

At this point Dove's entire face was red and Hikaru's jaw had dropped wide open, not even trying nor able to hide his shock. But he still hadn't released her and Dove was taking that as a good sign. She couldn't look at him anymore though, it was just too much and she buried her face in his chest, neither of them saying another word until the song was over. "May this awkward couple be forever blessed." Tamaki's voice, speaking again of the couple underneath the cherry trees that Dove had completely forgotten about, broke through the little bubble that had seemingly formed around them.

Hikaru gave Dove's hips a little squeeze and then released them, taking a small step back and removing her hands from around his neck, placing them at her side. "I have to go." He stated simply, looking into her eyes for a brief minute before walking away to stand with the other hosts by the balcony. Dove felt instantly colder from the loss of his closeness and she turned to watch him as he addressed the crowd. "And now we'll announce the queen of the ball."

"Congratulations, Princess Kanako Kasugazaki." Kaoru said, and Dove could have sworn his eyes looked at her for the briefest of seconds after.

"And for her reward, a kiss on the cheek from the king..." Hikaru said, but Dove didn't wait around to hear anymore. She'd had enough excitement for one night and was more than ready to go home. Her mind was both blank and racing at the same time and her heart still felt ready to burst.

She had made her way back into the hall while everyone was still preoccupied and had made it safely out the doors back into the hallway of the school when she felt the lightest tap on her shoulder. Reluctantly, she turned around, and was face to face with Kaoru. She was absolutely sure she wasn't prepared to handle whatever it was he wanted from her at the moment. "Kaoru, I'm tired. We can talk tomorrow." She made to turn around but he caught her arm, holding it loosely in his hand.

"Wait, please. This will only take a second I promise." There was a pleading look in his big gold eyes and Dove couldn't resist it. She turned back around and nodded for him to continue. "I just wanted you to know, Kanako might have been made queen, but the only queen here in my eyes tonight was you. And in that case, it's only fair you get a reward too." He leaned down slowly, so very slowly and Dove could have easily turned away, or backed up and she probably should have but she didn't. She just stood there, frozen in place as Kaoru pressed his lips lightly against her cheek, lingering only for a second before pulling back and smiling, "Goodnight, little bird." He whispered, and walked back into the hall leaving her standing there stunned.

It was official - she was doomed.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Okay sooo, that kind of ended up being way longer than I had planned. I really just can't help myself, it just kinda happens. Honestly though, I'm super proud of this chapter so I really hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Those Hikaru/Kaoru moments, am I right? And I know Dove is a bit of a mess, but she's supposed to be. Please let me know what you thought, I'm all smiles when I get positive comments it makes my day. Also, a little random but music is kind of my thing and I have this super long playlist on my phone of songs that I think relate to my story or inspired some scenes so let me know if you want me to share any of it & I'd be more than happy to! Oh and in case you were wondering, I imagine that Hikaru smells like whatever it is they spray in Abercrombie... you're welcome lol.


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note:** Hello again! :D So fair warning, I've just accepted at this point that I'm extra & can't write short chapters, so this one will be pretty long as well. Also, there will occasionally be some texting in the story & while I realize the show originally aired in 2006, for the sake of the story (and my sanity) it's happening in our current time so they have iPhones. Oh & and in case you're getting confused as far as the timeline goes, I'm following as closely to the show as I can, & this chapter takes place April 10th & 11th.

 **Soundtrack:** So I decided I really want to share a few songs from my story playlist every once in a while because they really just kind of help bring it all to life for me. To make some sense of all Hikaru's conflict for how he's feeling about Dove I've literally had "Space Bound" by Eminem on repeat for a week now. "Take Your Time" by Sam Hunt explains everything about how Kaoru is feeling for Dove perfectly, you'll see why after the next few chapters. As for Dove, "Daydreamin'" by Ariana Grande for Kaoru during this chapter & "Never Be the Same" by Camilla Cabello for that dance scene with Hikaru at the end of last chapter. (I told you, I'm extra...)

 **Disclaimer:** I own nothing. Except for my Dove. And it's quite possible that the Hitachiin twins own me. ;P

* * *

The day after the dance was a sunny Tuesday morning that found the Hitachiin twins curled up together in bed before the school day, peaceful in their sleeping state. Unfortunately, that peace was soon broken as the alarm went off on Kaoru's phone and he blinked his eyes open, yawning sleepily. "Kaoruuuu..." Hikaru grumbled against his brother's neck, swinging his arm around haphazardly trying to find the source of the noise, "Off." He demanded.

Kaoru chucked, grabbing his phone from underneath his pillow and silencing the alarm, "Good morning to you too, sunshine." He said, playfully ruffling Hikaru's hair, earning him a sleepy whine of protest, "We only have an hour before we have to leave for school." Kaoru removed Hikaru's arm from around his waist and pushed him lightly to the side, sliding out of bed.

"No. You, here, now." Hikaru grabbed around at thin air, searching for any part of Kaoru he could grab on to, but Kaoru had already started heading for the door, anticipating this. As endearing as he found Hikaru's morning antics, they had things to discuss before they went to school.

"Come on, get dressed. I'll get us some coffee, I have something I have to tell you." Kaoru quickly changed into his uniform and headed downstairs. He knew if he'd wanted them to, the maids would have gladly brought the twins coffee and breakfast every morning instead. But, he didn't want to deal with the drama it would cause if they saw the two cuddled up in bed together. Really it was innocent for the most part, or at least in Kaoru's mind it was, but the maids liked to gossip, and he knew their parents wouldn't find anything innocent about it if it were to get back to them. And if that happened they would be forced to sleep in separate rooms and while Kaoru might have be able to adjust to that eventually, he knew Hikaru would be a wreck. So every morning, he got up a little earlier than necessary to go downstairs to eat breakfast and bring up some extra for Hikaru.

By the time he had returned, Hikaru was only half dressed - his pants and socks were on but no shoes, and his shirt and blazer were both on as well but both remained unbuttoned and there was no tie in sight - and he was back in bed curled up around a pillow. Kaoru sighed and placed a large plate filled with fruits and pancakes on the bedside table and held a cup of coffee out underneath Hikaru's nose until he sat up and grabbed it, drinking about half of it in one gulp before reaching for a strawberry. Kaoru started on buttoning Hikaru's shirts, working silently while Hikaru finished his coffee until he got to the last button on the blazer.

"I kissed Dove last night." He said evenly, grabbing Hikaru's tie and tossing it to him before continuing, "On the cheek, as she was leaving the dance." He paused for a minute, allowing his brother a chance to speak but when Hikaru simply just stared at him frozen with his hands clutching his tie he figured he might as well just tell him the rest, "I also asked her out... to study. Considering I'm pretty sure she's going to fail everything if someone doesn't help her soon." Okay, so maybe that wasn't his only motivation in asking her out, but it wasn't a lie either. Dove needed some serious help when it came to school, and he really did want to be the one to help her since she certainly wasn't going to help herself.

Hikaru's expression remained blank as he finished fixing his tie, and he popped a handful of blueberries into his mouth. "She told me you're a tease." He said, grabbing some more berries and shrugging, "She's not wrong either."

Kaoru's mouth dropped open and Hikaru tossed a blueberry into it, a tiny grin forming on his lips. "She said I'm a..." Kaoru looked shocked, and shook his head, "What? Why? When?"

Hikaru laughed loudly - it wasn't often Kaoru got flustered and he was enjoying every second of it. "Okay, okay that's not all she said, but she did say it. At the dance, I made her explain how she was able to tell the difference between us."

Hikaru snatched a pancake off the breakfast plate but Kaoru quickly grabbed his wrist, stopping him before he could take a bite, "And? What else did she say?"

"A lot. But apparently I have an attitude problem and I suspect she finds your little freckle as charming as I do." Hikaru said, poking the spot under Kaoru's right eye where his barely noticeable freckle was. He leaned down, taking a bite of the pancake Kaoru was still holding hostage and stood up, shrugging again, "If you want to know more, ask her yourself. You're the one going on a date with her." He pulled his shoes on, his expression unreadable again and opened the door to their room, "Come on, we're gonna be late." He said, walking out of the room leaving Kaoru to drop the half eaten pancake on the floor and follow in stunned silence.

* * *

Dove hadn't slept well at all after the dance. The racing thoughts in her mind from what had happened with both Hikaru and Kaoru that night combined with the insane amount of sugar she had consumed didn't make it easy to fall asleep and by the time she finally crashed it was four in the morning. She had gotten about three hours of sleep total - nearly four if she was counting the nap she had taken during first period - and it showed.

As she dragged herself to her second period class, her hair brushed annoyingly against her upper thighs, a mess of tangles and knots as she'd been too tired to bother putting it up into her usual ponytail or even brush it. She had also forgotten to put on her uniform's white tights, and hadn't bothered bringing her school bag or any of her textbooks and she'd already gotten written up for both of those things. She dragged herself to the back of the room, rolling her eyes at a couple of her classmates who were snickering at her appearance and practically fell into her seat in the corner, letting her head drop onto the desk with a loud thud.

She had been content to sleep through this class as well, and was already beginning to doze off until she felt a pair of soft hands running through her hair, tugging softly on the multitude of tangles. She groaned, yawning as she lifted her head part way off the desk, and watching as Kaoru started to work at detangling her mass of hair. "That's not your seat." Dove pointed out, too tired to even attempt at removing Kaoru's hands from her hair even though she normally didn't like anyone touching it for too long.

"I convinced Shiro to switch with me." Kaoru said, referring to the boy who normally sat next to her and was now on the other side of the room next to Hikaru, neither of which looked too happy with the new seating arrangements.

This peaked Dove's curiosity and she lifted her head completely off the desk now, blinking sleep out of her eyes and tilting her head, "Why?" She asked simply, still too tired for full sentences.

Kaoru stood for a second and pulled his desk closer towards Dove's so that their desks were almost touching. "I told you, I'm going to make sure you stay awake during class, and help you study. Don't think I forgot. Which reminds me..." he detached his hands from her hair and pulled his phone out of his bag, handing it to Dove, "I need your number." She took the phone from his hand silently but didn't move to do anything, the shock combined with her lack of sleep was making it hard for her to comprehend what was going on. Had Kaoru just asked for her number? Staring at the amused grin on his face, Dove tried to snap herself out of it and typed her number into his phone, and put "Dove" under the name section, adding the little white dove emoji next to it out of habit.

"Don't go giving that out to anyone," She mumbled, passing him back his phone "I hate getting random calls and texts." Kaoru just simply nodded at her, and replaced his phone back into his bag. He started back on her hair after, gathering all of it up in both of his hands and draping it across his lap like a blanket, attempting to remove all of her knots as gently as he could but giving a little tug anytime he noticed her starting to drift off again.

"No sleeping." He'd say each time and she marveled at how he managed to work on her hair, and keep his eyes on both her and the teacher simultaneously. So rather than fail at trying to sleep, she had taken to watching his hands instead as they moved nimbly through her tangles, slowly but surely working their way up the length of her hair and beginning to braid it once all the knots were gone. Normally, anyone touching her hair for this long would make Dove extremely anxious, and she would have angrily pulled it away from them by now, snapping that if they touched it again they'd be pulling back a bloody stump rather than a hand. She knew it was overdramatic, but she had her reasons.

However, she was surprised to find that after her initial gut reaction of _stop him he's going to cut all your hair off_ had passed, it actually didn't bother her in the slightest. If anything, she was rather enjoying the feeling of his hands running through her hair, and was absolutely reveling in all the attention he was giving her. She couldn't help but wonder if this was what it was supposed to be like when a boy genuinely cared about you. But she brushed that thought aside as quickly as it had come; she knew better than most that ultimately all boys were the same and that he'd eventually get bored of her and move on to someone else.

But when the bell signaling the end of class rang, he surprised her once more. He tossed her hair - which she noted was now neatly in a very intricate looking fishtail braid - over her shoulder and held his hand out to her. She looked at it, and then up at his face, blinking at him in confusion. "Come on, I'll walk you to your next class." He grasped her hand, and interlocked their fingers, heading towards the door, "That is, so long as you promise me you won't sleep during class when I'm not there to watch you." She just shrugged in response, not wanting to make a promise she wasn't sure she could keep and he just shook his head at her laughing lightly.

As they walked out of the room, she caught a glimpse of Hikaru and offered him a small wave and a shy smile, but he didn't return either. He just looked at her for a split second with a blank expression before turning in the opposite direction to head towards his next class.

All through third period Dove was conflicted. On the one hand, she was thrilled to bits at all the attention she was receiving from Kaoru. But on the other hand, Hikaru had completely ignored her, though whether or not it was intentional she wasn't sure. She wondered if maybe the twins had talked last night and made a decision that they couldn't both pursue her anymore and maybe that was the reason for Hikaru's cold shoulder. If that was the case, it wasn't very fair - she had every right to make up her own mind about who she wanted to be with, and she still hadn't had enough time to figure out who she liked more. Not that she'd even given it much thought, if she was being honest. In reality, she was probably just overthinking things like she usually did, and there was no real reason for her growing frustration.

As class was nearing it's end, she was snapped out of her thoughts as she felt her phone buzz in her lap. She had gotten a text, from a number she didn't recognize that read simply, _Wake up!_ Kaoru, obviously. She couldn't help but smile as she saved his number to her contacts as "Kaoru Hitachiin" with a little orange heart at the end and went to respond.

 _D: Not sleeping... thinking._

 _K: About class?_

 _D: Of course not._

 _K: *eyeroll* What then?_

 _D: You._

No response. Dove felt a little knot forming in her stomach, and wondered if she shouldn't have said that. She had slowly been becoming more relaxed around Kaoru as his interest in her seemed clear now and was feeling more able to be her usual flirty self, but his lack of response was making her question whether or not that had been the right move. Luckily she didn't have too much time to agonize about it as her phone vibrated again ten minutes later just as the bell rang. _K: Waiting for you outside._

A big stupid grin spread across Dove's face and she barreled over a few of her classmates as she rushed out the door to meet Kaoru. He smiled at her and ran his hand down the length of her braid, admiring his work before taking her hand in his. "Hey." He said, and started walking in the direction of the cafeteria for their lunch period.

Dove looked up at him and smiled easily, surprised at how calm she was feeling. Calm was an uncommon emotion for her but she figured she might as well enjoy it while it lasted instead of questioning it. "Hey." She said back, as she realized something "How'd you get here so fast?"

Kaoru smiled back at her, absentmindedly swinging their interlocked hands back and forth, "I asked if I could be excused a few minutes early."

"And they just let you leave?" She asked him, incredulously.

"That's what happens when you're a good student." He laughed, earning him an eye roll and a glare from Dove but that just made him laugh harder, "By the way, I was thinking about you too." And just like that her glare was gone, replaced by a bright red flush to her cheeks and she just squeezed his hand in response, unable to form words again as they entered the cafeteria.

Since last week was the first week of school, meaning they'd had half-days all week and yesterday she had been too filled with anxiety during the day to even think about eating, this was the first time Dove was seeing the huge lunch room, which looked to her more like the food court of a mall than a school cafeteria. There were more food stands than she could count, and she noticed that there were older students here as well, which meant everyone had the same lunch period.

Kaoru didn't let go of her hand as he guided her towards one of the many food stands, and Dove had no intention of letting go either, despite the stares they were getting from a multitude of jealous Host Club fangirls. She noticed that her friend Kaiya was staring as well from one of the tables and when she caught her eye, Kaiya pointed at their interlocked hands and mouthed "oh my god" at her. Dove grinned, making a mental note to find her later and catch her up on everything that had happened, as well as grill her on where the hell she had been last night during the dance.

Before she knew it, Kaoru was leading her over to a table, and she realized she had been too busy observing everyone as usual and had forgotten to even get any food. She was about to get back up when Kaoru pushed his tray, which was piled high with all sorts of things, in between the two of them. "You seemed distracted, so I got extra." He gave her a warm smile, and her heart melted as it had a habit of doing when in Kaoru's presence for too long.

She returned his smile, and there was a growing warmth in her eyes as well as she looked at him. "That was... so thoughtful." She whispered, surprising herself as much as him as she leaned over and pressed her lips firmly onto his cheek earning a faint blush from him and a few squeals and whispers from the various girls at their table. _A girl could really get used to this..._ she found herself thinking, but pushed the thought aside, reminding herself for the second time that day that this wasn't likely to last. She looked away from Kaoru, focusing her attention on the food in front of her instead, grabbing a sandwich and taking a huge bite so she wouldn't have to speak. She looked around the room as she ate, and briefly noted that Hikaru was nowhere to be found, which seemed strange and made her mildly concerned but she pushed it to the side, yet again.

During fourth period, after walking with her to class again, Kaoru had convinced the teacher to allow him to push his desk together with Dove's so that he could share his book with her. All throughout class he was quietly trying to explain to her the things she didn't understand which was honestly everything and while she thought his efforts were extremely adorable, she also knew he was wasting his time. She was street smart, and observant about people but when it came to school work her mind drew a blank.

It wasn't that she was dumb, but she wasn't one of those people who just automatically "got it" either and she just really didn't care enough to even bother putting in the effort it would take. Not to mention she was way more concerned with how Kaoru's leg felt twisted around hers than anything he was saying about formulas or equations. Then there was also the matter of Hikaru, whose glare she was sure was going to burn a hole in the back of her head, making her realize she hadn't just been overthinking things after all.

* * *

Hikaru was pissed, and he wasn't even entirely sure as to why himself. The minute Kaoru had told him about kissing Dove at the party and asking her out a wave of jealousy had passed over him that he hadn't been able to shake since. And seeing them now - watching how close they were sitting, seeing the relaxed smiles on both of their faces and knowing that Kaoru had abandoned him to sit with Dove and walk her to class - it was filling him with rage.

Logically, he knew he had no right to be mad, since he had told Kaoru to do whatever he wanted with Dove, but Hikaru wasn't one much for logic. If he was being completely honest, he wasn't entirely sure why he was jealous in the first place, or even who he was jealous of - Kaoru, for being able to be upfront about his feelings with Dove and taking all of her attention or Dove, for coming into their lives and stealing Kaoru away from him. Both, he realized, it was definitely both. But rather than do the smart thing, and talk to either of them about it, he decided he'd just ignore his turbulent emotions and self destruct instead.

He left for fifth period alone, not even bothering to wait to see if Kaoru or Dove would ask him to walk with them and when he got there, he took out his phone while waiting for class to start, pretending to play a game so no one would try to talk to him but not really paying attention to it. Of course, Dove and Kaoru arrived together shortly after, and as Dove slid into her seat, she leaned towards him looking as pissed as he felt, "Hey, what's your problem?" She asked him and he gave her no response, not even looking at her and keeping his face blank as he put his phone away and took out his textbook, pretending to read now. He felt her eyes on him for a second but soon she just scoffed and turned away, "Whatever, don't tell me." He could hear the slight undertone of hurt in her voice, though it was masked heavily with anger, but he told himself he didn't care. Good, let her get a taste of what it feels like.

Dove leaned over to Kaoru and whispered something in his ear and Hikaru would have bet money that it was about him. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Kaoru typed something on his phone quickly and soon after he felt his own phone vibrating in his pocket. Annoyed, he took it out and glanced at the screen. _K: What's going on with you?_ Hikaru glanced over at Kaoru who was staring at him, rolled his eyes and put his phone down on the desk pointedly. Within seconds, it buzzed again and he picked it up out of sheer habit. K _: Talk to me, oniisan._ Hikaru sighed, his mood lightening a bit, but not much. _Later_. He typed out his one word promise to Kaoru and then put his phone away in his bag, making a point that he wasn't going to say anything else right now.

When class ended, Hikaru watched as a Kaoru kissed Dove's forehead quickly, saying goodbye to her before making his way over to him and slinging his arm around his shoulders. "Why don't you make this easier on both of us and just tell me what's going on with you for once instead of making me pry it out of you." Kaoru said as they walked towards their sixth period class.

But Hikaru had no intention on making this easy for Kaoru, it just wasn't in his nature, "Why don't you go talk to your new girlfriend instead." He snapped crossing his arms stubbornly rather than putting his arm around Kaoru's shoulders like he normally would.

Kaoru closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger, "So that's what this is about, you're jealous? Hikaru, you told me you didn't care if I went for her."

"I didn't. I mean, I don't. I mean, obviously it's not like it matters anyway, she chose you and you chose her." Hikaru pushed Kaoru's arm off his shoulder and walked a little faster, sulking.

Kaoru took in a deep breath, trying hard to keep his composure as he jogged a little to get in front of Hikaru, blocking his path. "She didn't choose me. You've been in a mood all day, and you ignored her when she tried asking you what was wrong." He took both of Hikaru's hands in his own, looking into his eyes, "She's not me, Hikaru. You can't expect her to be able to read your mind."

Hikaru just rolled his eyes, clearly not wanting or able to see reason at the moment, "Yeah well, whatever. I don't care anymore."

He walked the rest of the way to class, Kaoru following closely behind but keeping a small distance, "I really hate it when you lie to me." He said softly, and the sadness in his voice finally made a little crack in the icy exterior Hikaru had been building up all day. He paused just outside the classroom door not saying anything but placing a quick kiss on Kaoru's forehead before walking into class. He might very well be able to keep his resolve to stay mad at Dove, but he never had much luck with being angry at Kaoru for long.

* * *

Dove walked the hallways alone for the first time since that morning while on her way to sixth period, and she found herself mindlessly opening and closing the fingers of her left hand - they were feeling empty without Kaoru's own fingers in between them. She mentally chided herself for thinking that way. _You can't let yourself get so attached to someone who will be gone by next month,_ her little inner voice told her, _don't get carried away._ She decided it was a good thing that he was gone for now - she needed to clear her head from the fog that surrounded it anytime she was around Kaoru and it was more important for him to talk to Hikaru right now anyway. She might not be able to figure out what was going on with him but if anyone could it was Kaoru so she had decided that, at least for now, she would let him deal with it and try not to think about it.

Sixth period was history and she started to feel herself drifting off despite her best efforts to try and stay awake for Kaoru. _He's not even here, what's the harm?_ She thought, yawning as the teacher droned on and on about things that had happened such a long time ago that she didn't understand why they even mattered anymore. Just as her eyelids were starting to flutter closed, she felt her phone vibrate against her leg again, jolting her back to her senses and as she glanced at the screen she was starting to wonder if Kaoru was psychic.

 _K: Pay attention, little bird._

 _D: History is boring. :(_

 _K: You think everything is boring._

 _D: Just things that are pointless to my life._

 _K: History isn't pointless._

 _D: Whatever._

 _K: You're not making this easy._

 _D: Never said I was easy. ;)_

 _K: Not what I meant. *facepalm*_

 _K: You coming to Host Club today?_

 _D: Yes._

 _K: Sit with me and Hikaru. We'll all be outside today,_ _to view the cherry blossom trees._

 _D: Hikaru doesn't want to talk to me. Besides, I always spend Host Club with Honey._

 _K: Oh... okay._

Dove didn't feel the need to respond after that. She wasn't too sure what she would even say and besides, she couldn't be texting Kaoru endlessly if she was going to try and keep herself as detached as possible. She knew he was disappointed she didn't want to be with him during Host Club, especially since it was apparently some kind of special day. But she had spent the entire day with him and she was also hoping that giving Hikaru some space would help him to get over himself. Admittedly, she also wasn't too keen on having a front row seat to them flaunting themselves in front of girls that weren't her. And anyway, she had honestly come to look forward to the time she spent with the smallest and cutest of the hosts.

She made her way outside into the school's massive gardens after class, and stood for a minute admiring the beauty of the scene before her. She had never seen cherry blossom trees before moving to Japan, and she found them mesmerizing. The sturdy dark brown trunk with seemingly endless pink flowers, the petals of which were floating all around them in the light spring breeze. She closed her eyes, breathing in the sweet scent of the flowers and forgetting all of her troubles.

But her peace was very short lived. She heard a few hushed whispers from behind her and only picked up parts of the conversation, but it was enough for her to know what they were discussing. "...kissed Kaoru during lunch, I was sitting right there!" "...not even wearing tights," "I heard she's already failing all her classes," "...shouldn't have hair that long if she can't even maintain it" "She was all over Honey during the dance! " "I heard she asked Hikaru to come home with her and..." Dove groaned and shot the group of gossiping girls the nastiest look she could manage. Great, less than two weeks here and she was already getting a bad reputation. Who had she been kidding, thinking this would be a fresh start for her?

Her positive mood ruined, she searched for the one person who could always lift her spirits without fail, and made her way over to a small red blanket where the little Lolita host was sitting with Mori, Haruhi and two girls which she pointedly ignored. "Dove-Chan!" Honey said brightly, giving her a big hug as she sat down next to him, his smile quickly dropping through when he saw the downcast look on her face, "What's wrong Dove-Chan? Why do you look so sad? Do you need Usa-Chan? He's great at cheering me up when I'm sad!"

Dove offered a small smile and nodded, taking Usa-Chan gratefully and hugging the little stuffed bunny close to her chest. She was momentarily annoyed with herself that she had let those girls get to her, and clearly hadn't been hiding her emotions as well as she thought she was either. Sighing, she decided she was past the point of giving a damn what anyone thought. Between Hikaru ignoring her all day, people talking about her behind her back, and the lack of sleep catching up with her, she was just so tired. She curled up on the blanket, and rested her head on Honey's lap, closing her eyes and holding Usa-Chan close. "Um..." she heard one of the girl's voices and she opened one eye, just knowing this wasn't going to end well, "Aren't you dating Kaoru? Why are you over here cuddling with Honey? Don't you think that's kind of inappropriate?"

Dove reluctantly pushed herself into a seated position and glared at the girl who had spoken, "Not that it's any of your damn business, but I'm not dating _anyone_." She snapped, her voice getting progressively louder so that people were now looking over in her direction, "And even if I was, how the actual hell is it 'inappropriate' to rest my head on my friend's lap? It's not like I'm sitting here with my tongue down his throat!" She was standing now, her hands clenched into tight fists, one still gripping on to Usa-Chan, "As for the rest of you," she made it a point to look over at the girls who had been talking about her before, "If you've got something to say, next time grow a pair and say it to my damn face!"

She just stood there, red-faced and shaking, closely resembling an angry toddler as small as she was and holding Usa-Chan in her hand. She knew everyone was staring at her at this point including the twins, much to her dismay, but no one said anything. She hadn't meant to lose her temper like this and she certainly hadn't wanted them to witness it but the lack of sleep had made it harder to keep control over herself. She supposed she should just be grateful that she'd held herself back from knocking someone's teeth in like she really wanted too - little victories.

After another moment of silence, Mori surprised her by standing up and putting a hand on her shoulder, pressing on it gently so she would sit back down. "Show's over." He said pointedly to the crowd and just like that, everyone resumed what they had been doing before. He then turned his attention to the two girls sitting on their blanket, "I think it's best if you two leave." They just stared up at him, mouths gaping and the one who had insulted Dove was about to speak but Mori shot her a scary look, "Go." He said, pointing his finger in a random direction indicating that he didn't care where they went but they couldn't stay here, before sitting down quietly like nothing had happened.

Dove watched him, shocked. Her anger fading now as fast as it had come, she was very surprised that the silent host had been the one to come to her defense. She managed to give him a grateful smile, before yawning and rubbing her eyes sleepily - that little outburst had stolen what little energy she had left. Without really thinking about it, she let her head drop onto Honey's shoulder and started to drift off, vaguely aware that the twins were still watching her, before finally falling asleep.

* * *

Kaoru wasn't sure what exactly was happening, as he watched the scene unfold before him - sweet little Dove was yelling and cursing and all around just making a spectacle of herself. He was more than a little surprised and wondered what exactly had happened to set her off like that. All he had really heard was something about not dating anyone, and after that he had tuned out, admittedly a little hurt. He knew they weren't officially dating - after all, he had never asked her to be his girlfriend, it was too soon for that - but he could only assume that comment had been about himself, or Hikaru and seeing as how just before that she'd had her head on Honey's lap, he was starting to wonder if maybe Hikaru had been right about her in the first place.

No, he shook his head to himself, that wasn't it. He knew Honey was just her friend, and after all she had kissed his cheek during lunch, and been texting with him all day. But he couldn't help the little twinge of jealousy creeping into the back of his mind as he watched Dove rest her head on Honey again and fall asleep looking more peaceful than he'd ever seen her. Whenever she was around him or Hikaru she always seemed on edge and a little nervous but around Honey, she was always so cheerful and relaxed. He sighed, he shouldn't be thinking like this - irrational jealousy was Hikaru's job.

Hikaru... reluctantly, he glanced over at his brother. He knew if he was feeling this way, he could only imagine how much worse it was for Hikaru, and what he would do because of it. Much to his dismay, but not the least bit surprising, Hikaru's face was almost as red as Dove's had been - he looked about ready to snap at any second himself. "Hikaru..." Kaoru placed a hand on his brother's shoulder but he shrugged it off.

"Don't." Hikaru said, gesturing towards Dove with his hand, "I think it's about time to show her just how it feels to be overlooked for someone else. First she runs off with Honey at the dance, then she doesn't even bother with me all day since you were giving her all the attention she needed apparently, and now she's over there getting all cozy and sleeping on Honey right in front of our faces? If it's games she wants to play, I'm more than happy to give her exactly what she wants. Are you with me, or not?" He gave Kaoru a look that could only be described as daunting, and he raised an eyebrow at him, practically challenging him to say no.

Kaoru was reluctant. Though he had been feeling a little put-off himself, the more rational side of his brain was telling him that he should simply talk to Dove and find out what was going on instead of going along with whatever hair-brained scheme Hikaru was sure to come up with. But he also wasn't too keen on denying Hikaru, especially not with the current state of his emotions; that could prove disastrous. Either way, this would end up with someone pissed at him. Deciding he would rather deal with Dove's anger than Hikaru's, he shrugged. "I guess that depends. What exactly are you planning to do?"

"Nothing major." Hikaru smirked as he watched Dove who was waking up now, rubbing sleep out of her eyes and turning to lay on her back, but leaving her head where it had fallen back into Honey's lap as the small boy decorated her long braid with cherry blossom flowers. His gaze drifted over to Haruhi who was sitting next to them, chatting with Mori and drinking coffee. "You've seen how she looks at us whenever we talk to Haruhi? Well, let's really give her something to look at."

Before Kaoru could protest Hikaru grabbed his arm and dragged him over to the little group. _Well_ , Kaoru thought, _I suppose it could be worse._ He decided to go along with it, at least for now. If anything, it was just some harmless flirting, nothing too crazy like he was worried would happen. And he had to admit, as he glanced over to look at Dove who was still hugging Usa-Chan and giggling as she and Honey played with the flowers, this was starting to get under his skin too. It couldn't hurt to show her how it felt.

So when Hikaru went up to Haruhi and threw his arm around her, he followed and did the same, despite his better judgement. "So, Haruhi, have you decided your elective courses for this term?" Kaoru asked her, lifting up her chin with his hand so that he was looking right into her eyes, "How about conversational French? It is the language of romance." He gave her a wink and his best seductive smile, and he could feel Dove's eyes on him, her laughter had stopped and she was now super focused on watching the twins little show.

"I don't know." Haruhi said, looking more than a little uncomfortable as she shot Dove a small apologetic look.

"I think the three of us should take it together." Hikaru said, turning Haruhi's face to look at him now, caressing her cheek, "It makes perfect sense. We are in the same class. And you're so smart, you've got the best grades out of any of us." He didn't even try to hide the smug look he shot in Dove's direction. He had hit her right where it would hurt, and he knew it.

However, Hikaru hadn't accounted for the fact that Tamaki was also watching and was now coming over to them, fuming and interrupting their little plan, "Listen, Haruhi. I want you to stop hanging out with the shady twins from now on. We can't go on hiding the fact that you're a girl from everyone in the school any longer. Change back right now!"

"You don't have to rush things. She's going to be found out soon enough." Hikaru said, making a point of ruffling Haruhi's cropped hair playfully.

"Physical exams are the day after tomorrow." Kaoru added, releasing Haruhi now, figuring this charade had gone on long enough. That comment Hikaru had made about Haruhi being smarter than any of them had taken it too far - it was one thing to harmlessly flirt, but he could tell Dove was sensitive about how poorly she did in school, even if she would never admit it.

But they should have known that Dove wasn't one to just sit there and take whatever they dished out. "Physical exams?" Dove asked curiously, standing up and pulling Honey off the ground with her, a big smile on her face. Whatever game the twins were playing at, she could play it better. "Well that's absolutely perfect timing! Weren't we just trying to figure out which one of us is taller?" She pursed her lips, placing her hand against her forehead and dragging it over to touch Honey's, measuring their height.

"I told you, I'm the taller one, Dove-Chan, just because you don't want to admit it, doesn't make it any less true." Honey, who Dove had a feeling wasn't as clueless to what was going on as he tried to appear, grinned at her and grabbed Usa-Chan from her hands holding him above his head so that his ears poked out making him appear taller. And irresistibly adorable.

Dove laughed, and took a couple steps towards Honey, so that they were only inches apart now, "Honey- _Senpai_..." She accentuated that last part with a seductive little whine in her voice, blinking her long lashes and sticking her lower lip out in a pout, "Usa-Chan doesn't count!" Really, the two were so close in height that no one else would even be able to tell the difference, but when you were that small, every little half-inch counted. Suddenly, she made it look as if she lost her balance, and let her feet fall out beneath her, grabbing onto Honey's waist so that when they landed he fell on top of her. She giggled, and Honey looked stunned, "Oh! I'm so sorry Honey-senpai, I'm so clumsy sometimes." At that, she shot a very quick glance over at Hikaru and Kaoru and let a brief smirk cross her lips as if to say, _hey players nice to meet you, I'm the coach._ If they wanted to be petty with her, she could be oh so much worse.

* * *

Kaoru was sitting in the kitchen that night, his chin resting on his hands and an untouched plate of food in front of him. Hikaru was nowhere in sight, though if the loud music and banging noises coming from the basement were any indication, he was down in their home gym beating up on his punching bag. There was no denying it, Hikaru was pissed and Kaoru had little doubt in his mind that anything he said or did could change that anytime soon now; not after the little stunt Dove had pulled with Honey earlier.

He took in a deep breath and let it out slowly, picking up his phone and staring at the little text bubbles in his thread with Dove from earlier. He wasn't quite sure how he was feeling about all of this. He certainly hadn't expected her to get so hardcore flirty with Honey - hell it had looked like she was practically trying to seduce the boy. If anything, he had thought she would have just gotten mad that they were flirting with Haruhi and either stormed off or called them out on it. But, he supposed he had underestimated her and, a part of him also kind of thought they had gotten what they deserved for attempting to mess with her head like that. After all, he was fairly certain she didn't actually have feelings for Honey - which, while he was glad for that he also felt a little bad for the older boy. He knew how sensitive he was, and he didn't want him to get the wrong idea and end up getting hurt.

Sighing, he realized that staring at his phone wasn't getting him anywhere. Dove was too stubborn to text him first. If he wanted to talk this out with her, he was going to have to make the first move. _We should talk_ , he sent. Simple, and to the point. He stared at his phone for a minute, expecting her to respond quickly like she normally did, but got nothing. He heard a little scoff from behind him and turned around to see Hikaru rolling his eyes.

"You're wasting your time." He said flatly, picking up one of the untouched chicken wings off of Kaoru's plate and taking a bite, leaning against the table.

"And you're letting anger cloud your judgement." Kaoru retorted, glancing up at his brother and Hikaru rolled his eyes again.

"Whatever, I have every right to be pissed. I don't know why you're not." He went to grab another piece of chicken, but Kaoru stopped him, grabbing his hand.

"No, you don't." He stood up so that he was level with Hikaru and crossed his arms. Despite knowing it would ultimately be pointless, he knew he had to at least try and get Hikaru to see reason. He would be a bad brother if he didn't. "The only reason she was even with Honey instead of us during Host Club today in the first place is because she didn't want to bother you after how you acted all day. And I should've never let you drag me into your stupid little game with Haruhi. Dove was only doing to us exactly what we did to her. She was just... better at it." He admitted, searching Hikaru's face for a sign of any emotion besides anger.

And he found it. Though just for a second, Hikaru's eyes glanced down at the ground and a tiny frown had crept across his lips. "She was certainly very convincing." He mumbled and looked back up, his expression neutral now, "Honestly though, it doesn't matter to me. She can do whatever, or whoever, she wants to."

Kaoru frowned, "That's the second time you've lied to me today, oniisan." But before Hikaru could respond, Kaoru's phone finally buzzed from where it had been momentarily forgotten on the table.

"Better get that." Hikaru grumbled, nodding at the phone before walking away and stomping loudly upstairs, slamming the door to their room when he got there.

* * *

Dove had been laying in her bed, the headphones in her ears playing music loud enough that she couldn't hear herself think and hugging Usa-Chan whom Honey had insisted she take home with her tonight because "you need him more than I do right now," when she had gotten Kaoru's text. She had rolled her eyes, determined to ignore him but that plan went right to hell fifteen minutes later when a song that reminded her of him every time she heard it started playing. "Goddamnit. Stupid phone. Stupid iTunes. Stupid Ariana Grande..." She grumbled, pulling up their text thread and typing back to him.

 _K: We should talk._

 _D: Then talk._

 _K: I really do like you, little bird. I acted foolishly today, and for that I'm truly sorry. I'm not interested in Haruhi, and I don't think you're really interested in Honey either. I'm not sure what happened at Host Club today to upset you so much, but I should have made sure you were okay instead of letting Hikaru talk me into playing games with you. I'm just not used to this you know? Having anyone but Hikaru in my life whose feelings actually matter to me. Not that I'm making excuses just... I hope you can try to understand, if nothing else._

Dove's eyes widened when she received Kaoru's text, or rather his novel. Most guys barely even responded to texts, let alone sent paragraphs like that. She read it twice, all of the anger draining out of her body and being replaced with... well, that she wasn't quite sure of but her heart had clenched up and there were a few tears threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes. She hadn't thought guys were even capable of this kind of emotional maturity. Hell, she sure wasn't. Rubbing at her eyes, she knew she had to respond to him, though she had zero idea what she was going to say.

 _D: I really like you too... even after today. Honey is my best friend, and Hikaru is a total jerk._

 _K: Hikaru is just bad with emotions. Don't be too mad at him._

 _D: I am too. Doesn't mean he's not a jerk._

 _K: You're both too stubborn, I give up. Are you sure you don't want to talk about what happened to make you so angry at Host Club?_

 _D: Nothing to talk about. Just girls being petty._

 _K: Okay, if that's all it is. Can I pick you up for school tomorrow?_

 _D: I guess that would be okay._

 _K: Okay, I'll see you tomorrow morning then. Sweet dreams, my pretty little bird._

Dove clutched her phone close to her chest, her heart racing. She couldn't deny it anymore - she was crushing hard on Kaoru Hitachiin, and she wasn't sure she would be able to stop herself from liking him anymore than she could stop breathing. And whatever she felt for Hikaru - underneath all of the burning anger that was covering up everything else at the moment -well, that was a problem for a different day.

* * *

The next morning, Dove had every intention of waking up early so that she would be ready by the time Kaoru got there but instead she had hit snooze on her alarm at least five times. Jolting out of bed when she realized she only had about ten minutes to get ready, she quickly pulled her hideous school dress over her head, forgetting about her tights yet again and shoving her feet into her black converse rather than the uncomfortable black dress shoes. To hell with it, it's not like she cared if she got written up anyway. Her hair was still in the braid Kaoru had put it in yesterday but was much frizzier now after sleeping on it but she didn't care about that either.

Suddenly she heard the doorbell ring and she rushed out of her room, "I'll get it!" She yelled, running down the stairs two at a time, and getting about halfway down before tripping in her rush, and falling the rest of the way. "Ouch..." she groaned, rubbing her arm and then looking up, mortified when she saw Kaoru staring at her through the door her Aunt had already gotten to. "There's no chance you didn't see that is there?" She asked him, though she already knew the answer.

"You fell very gracefully." Kaoru assured her, laughing lightly and came inside to sit next to her on the bottom step. He inspected her arm, which was already bruising then frowned at her leg which had a small cut and bent down to kiss it softly, causing shivers to creep up her leg and spread across her entire body.

"Aren't you going to introduce me to this lovely young gentleman?" Maiko said from where she was watching them in the doorway and Dove flushed, she had completely forgotten her Aunt was there.

"Um, Kaoru this is my Aunt Maiko. Aunt Maiko, this is Kaoru Hitachiin. He's..." Dove glanced over at Kaoru, not really sure what to call him, "Um, he's... a friend from school." Kaoru frowned slightly, clearly that had been the wrong choice of words, but he wasn't her boyfriend and she didn't think her Aunt would really appreciate her referring to him as one of the super hot twins she couldn't get off her mind.

Kaoru stood up and took Maiko's hand in his own and brought it up to his lips, kissing it softly and Dove had to stop herself from laughing when her Aunt's eyes got big and a faint blush crept onto her cheeks. Clearly, no one was completely immune to the Hitachiin charms, "Pleasure to meet you, Maiko-San."

Maiko shook her head, "Pleasure is mine, Kaoru." She looked him over for a minute, remembering something, "Hitachiin? Like the designer?"

Kaoru nodded, "Yes, that's my mother."

Maiko nodded approvingly, "Well, it's good to know my Dove is keeping such good company. Keep her out of trouble, won't you?"

Dove's jaw dropped, but Kaoru nodded with a very serious look on his face, "I have every intention of making sure no trouble comes her way."

"That's good to hear. Helps put my mind at ease." Maiko smiled and when Kaoru turned his back to walk out of the door she grinned at Dove, giving her a little thumbs up and mouthing "he's cute!" Dove flushed bright red and rushed out the door, following Kaoru into what had to have been the fanciest limo she had ever seen. Not that she had anything to compare it to, as this was her first time ever in a limo.

"Friend, huh?" Kaoru said to her, once they were inside and raised an eyebrow at Dove, disapprovingly.

She just shrugged, "What would you have preferred I called you then?"

"I... don't know." He admitted, and grinned at her sheepishly, pointing at her leg. "We need to fix that cut."

Dove's eyes widened and she could literally feel the heat in her cheeks as Kaoru grabbed her leg and laid it across his lap. He pulled a first aid kit out of one of the limo's many compartments and wiped her cut off with a little alcohol pad, "Um, don't you think the school Nurse should do this instead?" She choked out, hyper aware of his fingers on her calf as he placed a small bandage over the little wound.

"No need, I'm done. All that's left is to make sure there's no more." Dove wasn't sure how Kaoru kept his composure because she was an absolute mess as he started to run his hand so very slowly up her calf. "No tights again..." he muttered, shaking his head and she couldn't help but gasp as he reached her knee. Just how high up was he planning to go? He paused, looking up at her with pure longing in his eyes, "Is this okay?" He said in a whisper and all she could do was nod silently.

He continued his torturously slow exploration of her thigh and stopped mid-way up, before picking up her other leg & starting the whole process over again. She was biting her bottom lip so hard to stop herself from making any noise that a little stream of blood trailed down to her chin and a small whimper escaped her lips anyway as he went up slightly higher than before on this leg, his hands lingering a little longer. He looked up at her mischievously, noticing the blood under her lip and leaned in close to her face, his lips so close she could almost taste them.

She had half a mind to kiss him herself, but she couldn't move, she wasn't sure she was even breathing at this point. "I heard you think I'm a tease." He whispered, tilting his head down and pressing just the very tip of his tongue on her bottom lip licking the small cut but not kissing her lips. Instead he kissed the spot right underneath her lips softly before pulling back just enough to look into her eyes, "Thought I should live up to my reputation." A big smirk spread across his lips and he laughed, looking out the window of the limo, "We're here. Come on."

He opened the door and held his hand out for her, but she just stared at him, her eyes wide and her lips slightly parted, wanting him - no _needing_ him - to kiss her, to touch her, to do something... _anything_. But he just grabbed her hand and pulled her out of the limo after him and she wasn't even sure how her legs were able to propel her forward because they felt like jelly. She also couldn't recall anything else that had happened that day during school and if you were to ask her, her mind would have simply wandered back to that limo ride where she had realized for the first time what it meant to really want someone.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Okay so, I had originally planned to write one chapter per episode but, my story kind of took on a mind of its own, and this was getting way too long already & I got too excited to share. Also, this literally isn't even half the content I had planned for this chapter so I'm uploading sooner than anticipated. Yay! I hope the texting wasn't too much, just trying out something new, I thought it would be cute. Expect to see some girl talk, more of Kaoru being literal perfection, a um... "study session" where you will learn a little more about Dove's past, Hikaru being well.. Hikaru, and video games with Honey! Let me know your thoughts!


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's Note:** Welcome back! Come on in, have a seat & grab some popcorn! Expect a whole lot of angsty Hikaru, swoon-worthy Kaoru, and some warm fuzzies with Honey. My minor OC girlies Kaiya & Rei will be in this chapter a little more as well, & Dove's going to open up about some stuff a teeny tiny bit, so please don't judge her too harshly! Timeline for this chapter is April 12th-15th. :)

 **Soundtrack:** Just one this time. The song Dove is playing after the physical exams is the brand new Liam Payne & J-Balvin song called "Familiar", because it gave me the idea for the scene.

 **Rating:** After reviewing the guidelines, for safety reasons more than anything, I have changed the rating of this story to M. You can blame (or thank?) Hikaru for that. He's not behaving himself.

 **Disclaimer:** As always, I own nothing. How sad. T_T

* * *

Hikaru, who was squeezing a pillow tightly, rolled over to search for the sound that was currently assaulting his ears. He grabbed his phone from where it had somehow ended up under a pillow next to him and tossed it across the room but the sound didn't stop. He groaned; he never even set alarms on his phone. Reluctantly getting out of bed so he could turn off the offending sound, he realized Kaoru must have set it for him before he'd left that morning. He glanced at his phone screen and scowled. _K: Left early to pick up Dove again. Didn't want to wake you. Don't be too mad at me._

He guessed it had been too much to hope for that Kaoru riding with Dove to school was just a one-time thing. Of course, it's not like he hadn't offered for him to come, but Hikaru was much too lost in his downwards spiral of rage and jealousy to accept that invitation. Especially after watching the two of them in school all day yesterday. Dove hadn't been able to keep her eyes off of Kaoru the entire day, and Kaoru was constantly touching Dove - holding her hand, brushing her hair out of her face, putting his arms around her shoulders. Hikaru couldn't help but remember how Dove had looked at _him_ like that, before she'd even known Kaoru existed, and how _he_ used to be the one who Kaoru would always have his arms around.

He wouldn't admit it if you asked him, but Hikaru was really hurting. He masked it well with anger, but beneath that fiery temper was a small, scared boy afraid of losing his brother. And even worse, he was going to lose him to the only girl who'd ever managed to made him feel something and had known right from the start just how different him and Kaoru were. But the worst part of it all was that he had no one but himself to blame. He'd told Kaoru to go ahead and do what he wanted with her, even though he liked her himself, and had all these mixed up feelings for Kaoru on top of that. And now he'd have to watch as they fell in love with each other and he ended up all alone with no one. At least, that was how he felt.

However, he didn't really have the capacity to feel all of that at once without losing his mind so rage it was. That was just a much easier emotion to manage. So, as he sat in silence, riding a limo alone to school his thoughts grew darker and he tried to figure out what exactly he was going to do to turn this situation in his favor.

* * *

Dove was in a fantastic mood this morning. Kaoru had surprised her by picking her up for school again, and because they had physical exams today all classes were cancelled. And since her last name was right in the middle of the alphabet, there were plenty of people who would have to go after her so she already had a plan to sneak out once they finished her exam. She had even worn clothes under her school dress, and brought her noise-canceling headphones with her so that she could find an empty room to play loud music in and just relax. Today was going to be a good day.

"You look happy this morning, little bird." Kaoru said from beside her as they walked towards the infirmary room where the examinations were to take place.

"I am happy." She grinned up at him and squeezed his hand pausing as they reached the door and wrapping her arms around his neck. "You know what would make me happier?" He raised an eyebrow at her and she stood on her tip-toes to get as close to his face as she could, though she still barely reached the top of his chest. "If you would kiss me already."

Kaoru chucked softly, and gave her ponytail a playful little swat so that it swung back and forth a couple of times. "Patience." He said with a small smile, lightly caressing her cheek with his finger tips.

Dove frowned at him, pouting "But I don't want to have patience, I want _you_."

Kaoru just laughed again, and removed her arms from around his neck, "You know, you're extra cute when you pout. Come on, we have to go inside." He took her hand again and led her into the large room. Dove's jaw dropped at the scene inside. There was a red carpet, a literal _red carpet_ rolled out on the ground, with nurses and doctors to greet them on either side. They sure did like to go overboard at this school. Kaoru gave Dove's hand a little squeeze, focusing her attention back towards him, "I have to go find Hikaru." He pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and then just like that he was lost to the crowd.

Shaking the Kaoru-sized fog from her mind, Dove scanned the room for Kaiya - she was long overdue for some much needed girl talk. She spotted her bubbly friend in a crowd of girls that had begun to form in front of a little stage and as she made her way over she realized the crowd was there because Hikaru and Kaoru were up there, shirtless. Why were they always shirtless? And why was it never when she was there to do anything about it? She groaned, looking away and tugging on Kaiya's sleeve when she finally managed to push her way through all of the screaming girls.

"Dove-Chan!" Kaiya beamed at her, enthusiastic as always, "I am _so_ sorry I wasn't at the dance the other night. But you have to tell me what happened! I saw you holding hands with Kaoru the other day and absolutely _everyone_ is talking about you. Is he really your boyfriend now? I mean personally, I thought you were going to end up with Hikaru but -"

Dove held up a hand, shaking her head at her overly-hyper friend, "I'm going to tell you everything but you really need to calm down Kai..." she frowned for a second, "Is everyone really talking about me?"

Kaiya nodded, leaning in conspiratorially, "Mhm... and between you and me... most of it isn't all that nice." She frowned as well, putting her hands on Dove's shoulders, "I tried to shut it down whenever I heard it, honest. But don't worry about them, I can't wait any longer the suspense is killing me!"

Dove sighed, and launched into an explanation of everything that had happened the past few days while they waited for their names to be called for their exams. She told her how she danced with Hikaru, but then Kaoru had kissed her and that for some reason Hikaru is mad at her because since then he has barely even looked at her. And how they were flirting with Haruhi right in front of her so she practically seduced poor little Honey to get back at them. "But Kaoru is a total sweetheart. He sent me this long, detailed apology and since then..." she paused, thinking about him holding her hands in the hallways and texting her throughout the day and then her mind drifted off to their limo ride the other day and her cheeks turned red, "Well, let's just say he's been a perfect gentleman. Frustratingly so, at times."

Kaiya's jaw dropped and she stared at Dove like she had two heads, "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Dove couldn't help but laugh at her friend's expression and she just shook her head. "Never mind that. He's too good to be true, really." She thought for a second, frowning, "Way too good for me, if I'm being honest. Especially since no matter how sweet he's been, I still can't stop thinking about Hikaru..."

"Get it together girl!" Kaiya surprised Dove by gripping her shoulders again and literally shaking her entire body, " _Kaoru Hitachiin_ is practically throwing himself at you. Kaoru. Hitachiin. Do you even realize how lucky you are? How many girls would kill to be you right now? I know you think the twins are 'different' or whatever but really, they're both equally hot so what does it matter? Forget about Hikaru!"

Dove sighed, not even in the mood to explain that it was about so much more than them being hot and that she had no idea just how different they were. She liked Kaiya, but sometimes she really was dense. "But that's just it, I _can't_ forget about Hikaru. Trust me, I wish I could." She chanced a glance up at the stage and the twins were still up there, holding each other close now, putting on a show for their adoring fans. She couldn't help but roll her eyes as all the girls screamed. Just like Kaiya, they knew less than nothing about the Hitachiin twins. And suddenly she understood why they were so fascinated that she could so easily tell them apart. Clearly, no one else ever cared enough to try.

"I really don't know then." Kaiya said, snapping her out of her thoughts, "But honestly, if he's not interested anymore there isn't much you can do anyway." Kaiya shrugged and Dove knew she was right. For whatever reason, it seemed like Hikaru had changed his mind about her. And she might have no choice but to accept that. But she didn't have time to think about it as she heard her name being called.

She was lead into a smaller room on the side of the large room and all they really did was check her height and weight. All of this ceremony was just another opportunity to put on a big show for no reason. "Four foot, eleven inches and you weigh one hundred and ten pounds." The nurse told her and Dove shook her head furiously.

"No way! I swear the last time I checked I was five feet tall!" She protested and the nurse just shook her head. Dove groaned - she knew she wouldn't hear the end of this from Honey. She could only hope that he was even a quarter of an inch shorter than her, and if he wasn't, she was seriously considering lying about her results. Well, at least she was all done now, and she had plenty of time left in the day to go off and explore the school and find a good place where she could just turn the world off and her music on for a little while. But little did she know, someone else had a very similar idea, and things weren't going to go as planned.

* * *

It had been surprisingly easy to sneak out of the infirmary room. There was so much commotion, especially since Tamaki was up next to get his exam, that Dove was able to hide herself in the crowd and slip right out the door. The harder part was finding a room where she could be sure she wouldn't be disturbed. She wandered the hallways for about twenty minutes, surprisingly enjoying the silence that filled them. Eventually she settled on a large classroom that looked like it probably used to be a science lab but all the desks had been cleared out of it. She doubted anyone would come in here anytime soon.

She pulled her hated yellow school dress over her head and gave a happy little twirl. She hadn't been able to find much she would be able to hide underneath the dress, so she had settled on a pair of black jean shorts that had little rips at the bottom and a red and white striped off-the-shoulder crop top. Off course she had also "forgotten" her tights again, and was wearing her black converse. She pulled the hair tie out of her ponytail as well, shaking out her hair and letting it fall wherever it wanted. She felt free.

Wasting no time, she grabbed her big red headphones out of her bag and placed them around her head, tightening them so that they would be less likely to fall off. Searching through her music, she found the song she had been looking for. It had just come out and ever since she'd downloaded it last night, she had been dying to dance to it - it had been way too long since she had been able to dance. Sure, she had danced at the party on Monday, but her usual style of dance involved a lot more hip movement than was appropriate for a formal school event.

Turning the volume all the way up and closing her eyes so she could tune out everything except the music she swayed her hips back and forth and around in circles as fast as they would go, making her way around the room. She reveled in the feeling of her hair brushing against her bare stomach and legs and hummed along to the music while she danced - she wasn't much of a singer but she really _felt_ the music in her soul. She was content in having her own little private party in this abandoned classroom. Only, it wasn't as private as she thought.

Hikaru had left the physical exam room early as well - he was in no mood to participate in the Host Club's plan to make sure Haruhi wasn't found out as a girl. He was sure they'd be able to handle things just fine without him. He hadn't _planned_ on following Dove, but when he saw her turn the corner of the hallway in front of the one he was in, he couldn't help himself. What could she be up to? His curiosity had gotten the best of him and so he followed her, keeping his distance so that she wouldn't notice.

When she entered the empty classroom, he peered in through the little window in the door and his eyes widened as she stripped off her school uniform. His eyes traveled down her body of their own accord. Starting at her bare shoulders, he followed the little curve of her spine down her back to her tiny waist all the way to her hips which were a little wider than the rest of her small frame. He inhaled sharply as she took down her long hair, shaking it out and running her hands through it. "Fuck..." he muttered under his breath. She might be an infuriating little thing, but he couldn't deny - without that yellow dress that did nothing good for anyone no matter their body type and that irritating ponytail she always had in her hair - she was sexy as hell.

He was just about to walk away before he did anything stupid when he saw her put headphones on and start dancing around the room. It took less than a minute of watching the way her hips moved for him to open the door to the classroom, and decide to hell with it, when was he ever known for doing the smart thing anyway? He knew she hadn't noticed his presence yet, because she had her music turned up so loud that he could hear the beat of the song and the singer's sultry sounding voice through her headphones and as he watched her turn around he noticed her eyes were closed as well. His judgement completely clouded at this point, he made his way over to her and grabbed her roughly by those hips that had him hypnotized and pulled her in close.

Dove's eyes snapped open when she felt someone grab her, her heart jumping into her throat, ready to scream as loud as she could until she realized it was Hikaru who was holding her. He had such a tight grip on her waist that she could feel the tips of his fingernails pushing into her skin and she wasn't sure if the look in his eyes was anger or lust, but it appeared to be both. She looked back at him with a mixture of shock and then satisfaction - clearly he didn't completely hate her after all. And so, not knowing whether it was the music, the lyrics or the look in his eyes, she decided to use this to her advantage.

Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pressed herself closer against his body, and kept moving her hips slowly now, teasing him - torturing him if the look on his face was any indication. He surprised her by moving one of his hands to rest on the small of her back and dipping her down, her back bending over his hand and her hair brushing the floor for a split second before he swung her back around and lifted her tiny body up into the air. She wrapped her legs around his waist out of instinct and he slammed her against the wall, her headphones falling off of her head and clattering onto the floor, forgotten though the music could still be heard.

Hikaru just stared at her for a minute, and Dove stared right back - their eyes locked but saying nothing. She dropped her legs, sliding down until her feet hit the floor, the wall against her back and Hikaru's body the only things holding her up at this point. He slowly moved one hand off her waist to her face, trailing his index finger down her cheek but his expression didn't match his tender actions - the look in his eyes was honestly a little scary now but she couldn't look away. He moved his finger to her bottom lip, pushing it the tiniest fraction of an inch between her lips and she bit down lightly on his fingertip, flicking her tongue against it and blinking up at him innocently.

And that's when Hikaru lost any ounce of self control he had left. He pulled his finger out from between her lips and trailed it down her chin to her neck which he then proceed to wrap his entire hand around. Dove's heart started to beat faster than she thought possible, due to excitement or nerves she wasn't sure. She knew Hikaru had a temper but she didn't think he had it in him to actually harm her. And he didn't, he just rested his hand there, giving the lightest little squeeze - meant to tease not hurt. She bit her lip, breathing heavily. She didn't really even know what was going on anymore, she just knew she didn't want it to stop. He had to make a move, and now, or she was going to.

And just like that, she got her wish. Hikaru crashed his lips forcefully into hers, her head pressing into the wall, his hand still around her neck, his other squeezing her waist. She went to wrap her arms around his neck but he was quicker. He removed his hand from her waist and snatched up both her tiny wrists in his hand, slamming them against the wall above her head. She whimpered as he bit down hard on her bottom lip, removing his hand from her neck and moving his lips down to kiss it instead. He released her hands as well and slid both of his slowly down her body, kneeling down as he did so, kissing down her stomach and taking her small belly piercing between his lips, tugging on it with his teeth.

Dove couldn't take it anymore, this was too much. Despite what everyone might think of her, she wasn't as... experienced as she apparently appeared to be. Not that she minded anything he was doing - if anything, she had practically been begging for this to happen. But she had never let any guy get this far with her before. To hell with it though, she had no more self-control left than he did at this point. She buried both of her hands in his hair, now that she had full movement of them again and tugged on it hard, trying to pull him back up.

And it worked, his lips were back on hers in an instant as he simultaneously removed her hands from his hair and restrained them again with one hand and pulled her head back by her hair to look up at him with his other hand as he took his lips from hers. Leaning in close to her ear, his heart beating rapidly he bit down on her ear lobe before whispering breathlessly, "Don't think this changes anything." And then he released her all at once, watching as she slid down the wall to sit on the floor, no longer able to hold herself up on her own and giving her a little smirk and a wink before walking out the door, slamming it behind him.

* * *

Dove wasn't sure just how long she sat there on the cold classroom floor, staring wide eyed at the door as if Hikaru would come back through it at any second. But she knew that wasn't going to happen. In her stupid little head, she had thought they were having a moment. But, just like at the party on Monday, he had gotten close with her just to walk away like nothing had happened yet again. She really wasn't sure how he could even do that. Sure, she was able to mask how she was feeling on the outside, but that didn't mean she wasn't a mess inside. She wondered if maybe it was the same for him. Kaoru had said Hikaru was bad with emotions, maybe walking away and not facing how he was feeling was just what he did.

Oh god... _Kaoru_. Thinking of the other Hitachiin twin; the sweet one who got extra food for her at lunch and cared about how she did in school and never so much as said one mean word to her snapped some sense back into her confused brain. She grabbed her headphones off the floor, grateful they hadn't broken when they fell, and replaced them on her head - no way was she leaving this room without music in her ears. She didn't want to have to think about any of this, at least not until she absolutely had to. She snatched her discarded dress off the floor, without bothering to put it back on and left the room, promising herself to never ever come back to it again.

The school day was basically over, and the hallways had filled up now, as nearly everyone had finished with their physical exams. Dove could practically feel everyone's eyes on her and she had to remind herself quite a few times that it was just because of how she was dressed - they had no idea what had happened between her and Hikaru. It was also possible that they were staring at her because of her music. She hadn't bothered to turn the volume down, and currently had all her songs by Drake on shuffle - she doubted these stuck up rich kids had much appreciation for rap music. But to hell with them.

She made her way through the hallway, and into the school's gardens, not really sure where she was going but she knew it wouldn't be to Host Club. There was no way she could face Hikaru or Kaoru right now after what had just happened. But she didn't really want to go home either. Suddenly, she felt her headphones being lifted off her head, and someone linking their arm with hers. She looked to both sides; Kaiya was the one who had taken her music hostage and Rei was pulling her in the direction of another impressive limo. Though not as huge as the Hitachiin limo, Dove couldn't help but admire it anyway. Until recently, the only cars she had ridden in were covered in dents and usually smelled of cigarettes, weed and Axe Body Spray.

"So, why exactly am I being kidnapped?" She asked her friends, trying her best to sound annoyed but really she didn't mind - at least this gave her something to do. She had literally zero desire to be alone with her thoughts right now.

"We're going shopping. Rei is having boy problems and I thought you'd be the perfect person to help!" Kaiya tried to give Dove a serious look but couldn't help erupting into a fit of giggles.

Dove sighed and slumped back into the car seat, "Great, thanks Kai. Good to know my problems are entertaining to you. At least someone is amused."

Kaiya gave Dove a mock-pout, "Oh come on, you know I didn't mean it like that."

Dove just shook her head and Rei shot a quick glare at Kaiya, "Don't listen to her. I wanted you to come because I like your style." She shrugged, giving Dove a small smile "I've never been comfortable showing too much skin before, but at this point I'm willing to try anything to get Takashi-Senpai's attention."

"I guess helping you pick out some new clothes wouldn't be too bad. Although, I won't be much help in the overpriced designer stores you guys are used to." Dove twisted the little frayed strings at the bottom of her shorts around her fingers, "Most of my clothes are from thrift shops." She might as well have just told them she'd killed a man with the amount of shock that passed across Rei's face and Kaiya's horrified little gasp. "Come on, you really want my help? Then we're doing this my way." She smirked, knocking on the little window between them and the limo driver, "Hey! Limo-guy! Let us out!"

The limo driver pulled over to the curb and Dove reached over Kaiya to open the door, pushing her out and grabbing Rei's hand pulling her behind her. "Take a break man, I'm sure you need it." She said to the limo driver, "We'll be good from here." Kaiya was about to protest but Dove shot her a scary look, shutting her up. "Come on, I found a really cool store last weekend. It's only like a ten minute walk from here." Kaiya looked ready to protest again, obviously having never had to walk anywhere in her life and not wanting to start now, but Rei almost seemed excited as they made their way to a small shop a few blocks down in between a bookstore and a stand selling cheap sushi.

Dove pushed open the door and her friends followed skeptically behind her. She doubted either of these girls had ever even been to a Walmart before in their lives, let alone a thrift store but she felt right at home in places like this. Kaiya had already made her way over to the back of the store, where there was some vintage jewelry and little household knick-knacks. She was currently poking at and inspecting every little thing as if it was fascinating to her that stuff this old even existed. But Rei was more optimistic, and allowed Dove to take her hand and lead her over to some of the clothing racks.

Sizing up her friend to figure out what type of clothing would fit her best, she noted that Rei was taller than she was by about four or five inches but much skinnier - she had a very slender frame where Dove was more curvy. Shifting through the racks for a few minutes she decided on a pair of faded blue high-waisted skinny jeans and a longer dark green crop top. Rei looked at her nervously as she handed over the clothes, "Are you sure about this? Usually I dress much more... well... conservatively."

Dove nodded, shoving the clothes into her hands, "You want to get Mori's attention right?" Rei nodded back but still looked skeptical. "Look, these jeans will help show off your long legs, and the top is long for a crop-top, I swear. There will just be the tiniest bit of skin showing, just enough to make a guy want to see more. And the green in the shirt will bring out the green in your eyes. Just trust me."

"Okay..." Rei took the clothes and headed to the small dressing room in the corner, closing the curtain, "But, how will he even see me in any of this? It's not like I can just come to school wearing whatever I want."

Dove continued browsing the clothing racks, pulling a few things that caught her eye off for herself. "I've already figured that out, just try on the clothes." Glancing around the store to make sure no one was watching, Dove unzipped her school bag and ducked down behind one of the racks. Balling up the clothes in her arm, she quickly stuffed them into her bag before standing up and heading back over to the dressing room. "You almost done?"

"I... yes, but I don't know about this. If my parents even saw me in clothes like this..." Rei trailed off, but Dove just rolled her eyes, pulling the curtain open.

"Who cares what they think? Besides, that's why you leave the house wearing something else, and just change later." Dove gave her a nod of approval. "Much better than that horrible yellow dress. You actually have a figure now."

Rei blushed and offered a small smile before heading back into the dressing room to change back, "Okay fine, I'll buy it! But, what's your plan to get Takashi-Senpai to see me? I don't think he even knows I exist..."

"He might not, but I've become pretty good friends with Honey and I'm sure if I asked him to, he'd drag Mori out with him and we could all hang out together." Dove shrugged, it really wasn't that hard to get guys to do what you wanted. You just had to play your cards right.

Rei pulled open the curtain, holding her new clothes tight her chest, her eyes wide, "L-Like a d-date?" Dove could have sworn the poor girl was shaking - it was obvious she had zero experience with boys. "I don't know, I've never been on a date before.. with anyone. I wouldn't even know what to say."

Dove sighed, and dragged Rei towards the checkout counter, "Not a date. Just friends hanging out, I promise." And, if she just happened to plan on taking them to the park where she knew there was an ice cream stand and just happened to wander off with Honey, distracting him with ice cream and leaving Mori and Rei alone, that would be entirely an accident.

Right as they were at the door about to leave the store, one of the associates put a hand on Dove's shoulder, preventing her from leaving, "Excuse me, miss? I'm going to have to ask that you open your bag."

Oh crap, this wasn't good. Dove used to shoplift back home all the time, and she almost never got caught. Plus she had thought she was careful. Kaiya and Rei were staring at her, giving her confused looks, "Go, I'll be fine. I'll see you in school tomorrow." They looked unconvinced, but she shooed them away with her hands, "Go. It's okay, really." She let out a sigh of relief when they finally left - she knew she was about to get into some serious trouble, and she didn't want her new friends to witness it. As much as she liked them, they weren't the kind of girls she usually spent time with, and she doubted girls like that, who'd always had everything in life handed to them, would understand why she would ever need to steal anything.

Dove sighed and unzipped her bag, grimacing when the sales associate pulled out the clothes she had put in there earlier. "If you can pay me for these right now, I won't call the police." The associate said, and Dove was surprised she was even being given that option. Unfortunately, she was broke.

"I don't have any money..." She said, looking up at her with as innocent of a look as she could manage.

But, that didn't work. Not that she had really thought it would. "Then I don't have a choice."

* * *

Dove was currently sitting on an uncomfortable bench in a holding cell at the local precinct with handcuffs around her wrists, wondering how this day had gone so very wrong. They had taken her bag, so she couldn't distract herself with music, but luckily had let her keep her phone - but only for the next few minutes while she figured out who to call to bail her out of this mess.

Whenever she had gotten arrested back home, which honestly wasn't too many times since she didn't usually get caught, she tended to call whoever her mom's boyfriend-of-the-week was. She'd promise them she'd put in a good word for them, or to not mention whatever perverted comment they'd made to her or her friends, and they'd put up the money to bail her out and her mom was none the wiser. But she had no idea what she was going to do now.

She couldn't call her Aunt - she had made it pretty clear she wouldn't put up with any kind of trouble - and she didn't really have anyone else. Her mind drifted briefly to the twins but she didn't want Kaoru to know what a mess she was, sure he wouldn't like her anymore if he did. Not to mention, he had texted her earlier and she hadn't even responded, not knowing how to talk to him after what had happened earlier. And as for Hikaru well, she didn't have his number to begin with and even if she did she highly doubted he'd be willing to help her. Either way, it didn't matter - she knew they could only release her to the custody of someone eighteen or older.

And that's when she realized, _Honey_. He was small sure, but he was the oldest out of all the hosts, and she was almost positive he was already eighteen. Scrolling through her contacts she found Honey's, a tiny smile on her face when she saw how he had put his name in her phone "Honey-Senpai" with at least 6 different emojis of cake and various candies as well as a little bunny head meant to represent Usa-Chan. She really didn't want to have to bother him over this, there was nothing she hated more than asking people for help and burdening them with her issues, but she didn't have much of a choice. So she hit send, and held her breath.

He picked up after the second ring and sounded worried already, which was just making this harder for her. Nothing ever bothered Honey, and she didn't like being the cause of his distress. "Dove-chan! I was worried about you! You never showed up at Host Club, and Kaoru said you never texted him back. Is everything okay?"

Great, so Kaoru was worried about her too? She wasn't even sure how to feel about this. Honestly, she wasn't all that used to anyone giving a damn about whether or not she was okay. Most of her "friends" back home only cared about when the next time they would be getting drunk or high was. A few tears welled up in her eyes; all of the emotions of Hikaru walking out on her before, and of feeling like she betrayed Kaoru and of getting herself into trouble already after less than two weeks here hitting her all at once. She blinked them back, not wanting to show any weakness and her throat tightened into a little knot from the effort. "No... Honey, I messed up. I... need your help." She admitted, her voice cracking a little and she tilted her head up to look at the ceiling to stop any tears from falling.

"What's wrong Dove-chan? Are you crying? What happened? Where are you?" Hyper as always, Honey couldn't help himself from asking a million questions, as he tried to figure out whether he had to beat someone up or just simply comfort his newest friend.

Dove was mad at herself that she had let her voice crack, that she wasn't maintaining good enough control over her emotions. Granted, she wasn't always great at controlling it when something pissed her off, but anger didn't embarrass her. She didn't care if people thought she had a temper, but she was not okay at all with anyone thinking she was weak or vulnerable. Because when people saw weakness, they took advantage of it. But if anyone in this world had nothing but pure intentions, it was Honey. She could trust him, and really she didn't have much of a choice at this point anyway. "Everything. Everything is wrong. But that doesn't matter. I'm... kind of in a holding cell right now. I promise I wouldn't be asking you if I didn't absolutely have to but... can you come get me?"

Honey was silent for a minute, and she almost thought that maybe he wouldn't want to associate with someone like her either. But soon she heard a door slam, and then another and something that sounded like a car engine being started. "I'm on my way. Do you want me to stay on the phone?"

Dove sniffed, rubbing a few stray tears off of her cheeks angrily with a little balled up fist. She really, really didn't want to cry. "Yes please..." She said quietly, and then thought of something, "And Honey? Please don't tell anyone. About any of this. I don't want anyone to judge me. It's bad enough that you're going to judge me."

"I won't. Judge you, or tell anyone. And neither will Usa-chan!" He added that last bit as an afterthought, trying to lighten the mood and it worked.

Dove let out a choked little laugh and couldn't help but smile, "Thanks, Honey. Seriously, thank you."

* * *

Somehow, Honey had managed to get the cops to let Dove off with nothing but a warning - not charging her with anything, or making him pay bail. Actually, they all seemed pretty flustered when he came to collect Dove, rushing to let her out of the cell and un-cuff her and apologizing profusely, more so to Honey than to her. Something about not knowing she was a friend of the great Mitsukuni-Sama and that had they known this never would have happened.

Dove looked at Honey curiously as she sat across from him, riding in what was now her third limo in one week. She wondered what exactly they were so afraid of - he seemed so innocent. She made a mental note to ask him about it someday, now wasn't really the time. When he had seen her tear stained face and red eyes, Honey had shoved Usa-Chan into her arms, and insisted she stay the night as his house - he wasn't about to let her go home upset. She hadn't really wanted to go home anyway, so she texted her Aunt and told her she was spending the night at Kaiya's; she doubted she would've been okay with her spending the night a boy's house. She also decided to finally look at Kaoru's messages and she was surprised to see that there was more than one.

 _K: Just wanted you to know, that was nothing more than a show at the exams. Those girl's attention means nothing to me._

 _K: Why didn't you come to Host Club today?_

 _K: If I did something wrong, please just tell me..._

 _D: I was shopping... you did nothing. Talk tomorrow?_

 _K: Sure. We can talk on the way to school._

 _D: No. After school. Staying at Honey's..._

 _K: What? Why?_

 _D: Not what you think. Explain tomorrow._

After she sent that last text, Dove did something she almost never did and turned her phone off, putting her head in her hands. She was too emotionally drained from everything that had happened today, and talking to Kaoru was just making her feel worse. He really thought _he_ had done something wrong? He was perfect, she was the screw up. She knew she should have offered more of an explanation, but she wasn't good with words, she needed time to figure out what she was going to say to him. Besides, she really didn't think what had happened with Hikaru was really something she should tell him over text. Honestly, a part of her was hoping Hikaru would just tell his brother first, that way she wouldn't have to.

"Dove-Chan?" Honey tapped her shoulder, and had taken a much softer, careful tone with her than his usual loud excitable way of speaking, "We're here." She followed Honey out of the limo, marveling at the sheer enormity of his house. She knew that her new friends were rich but she hadn't realized they were _this_ level of rich. She'd never even seen a house - no mansion - this size before, let alone been inside of one.

Once inside, Honey steered her towards the biggest kitchen she'd ever seen, and started silently piling as many cakes, candies, sodas and other manners of deserts and sweets as he could in Dove's arms before grabbing as much as he could carry himself. He inclined his head for Dove to follow him, and lead her into what she assumed must have been his bedroom seeing as how it was filled to the brim with all kinds of stuffed animals. He spilled the contents of his arms onto the middle of the large bed, and Dove did the same, standing by the edge and watching as Honey climbed onto the bed and scooted over, patting the spot next to him with his hand. She sat down as she was told, and Honey grabbed a big bag of Sour Patch Kids and tossed them to Dove, "Eat. Sugar fixes everything."

Dove couldn't help but smile at the little blonde as he watched her with big concerned brown eyes. She ripped open the bag of candy and stuffed a handful into her mouth and Honey grinned at her, starting on the sweets himself. As they made their way through the large pile of junk food, watching some ridiculous cartoon Honey had put on, she had to admit, much of her stress had started to melt away. Taking a big gulp of Cherry Coke and reaching for a cupcake, she studied Honey curiously for a second, wondering now why he hadn't pressed her for information - anyone else would have. "Aren't you going to ask me what happened?" She asked, licking the icing off the top of her cupcake.

Honey just shook his head, breaking a chocolate bar in half and handing her a piece, "If you wanna talk about it, we can. But you don't have to tell me anything if you don't want to."

She smiled gratefully at him, wondering if she should just ignore her inner voice that was always screaming at her not to trust anyone and tell him everything. She knew it would probably help, talking it all out with someone. But she wasn't sure she was quite ready to let anyone get that close to her just yet - she wasn't sure if she ever would be. She figured she owed him some kind of explanation though since he had come to her rescue after all. So she settled on telling him some, but leaving out most of the details. "I'm not so good with talking..." she took in a breath, taking a bite of the chocolate before continuing - the sugar really did help, "But um... something... happened. With Hikaru. And I don't know I guess I was just feeling out of control. And when that happens, I do stupid things. I don't really know why, I just do." She shrugged, glancing over at Honey to judge his reaction, "I don't usually get caught." She added, a tiny grin forming on her lips.

Honey just smiled at her, pushing all the empty wrappers and soda bottles onto the floor and scooting over towards Dove to wrap his arms around her waist, hugging her tightly. "Next time, call me _before_ you do something stupid."

Dove couldn't help but laugh as relief flooded through her that he hadn't judged her after all, and she returned his hug. "I'll keep that in mind." She yawned, tired despite all the sugar after everything that had happened and layed down, curling up onto her side and holding Honey's wrist so that he wouldn't release her. She wasn't sure if it was because he was the same size as her, or that he didn't pressure her into talking because he just knew she wasn't ready, or that he always supplied her with sweets, but Honey made her feel safe. And she didn't want to be alone tonight.

Honey didn't say anything more, he just curled up next to her, keeping one arm loosely draped around her and his head next to hers on the pillow. His thick mop of blonde hair fell onto her cheeks, and she couldn't help but notice that it was softer even than her own hair. She took his hand and held hers against it, comparing their size - his fingers were just slightly longer than hers - and giggling softly before lacing her fingers with his and closing her eyes. And as she listened to Honey's soft breathing, his breath warm against her neck, she couldn't help but realize that this was the first time she'd ever been in bed with a guy who wasn't trying to make out with her or get in her pants. He really was so pure - and as she drifted off to sleep, safe and warm, her last thought was that in no way could she allow herself to ruin him or corrupt him in any way.

* * *

The next day, Dove arrived at school in Honey's limo, wearing one of his school uniform suits instead of the horrible yellow dress since she had accidentally left it in Kaiya's limo yesterday. Of course she was getting even more stares than usual, and the girls were all whispering about her again throughout the day. She didn't even have to listen to know what they were saying about her. She had showed up at school with a different boy this time - yet another boy that they were all obsessed with - and to make matters worse she was wearing his clothes. So, naturally, she was sleeping with him now too. Okay, granted she kind of _had_ slept with Honey, but not in the way that they were all sure to be thinking.

She wasn't surprised in the least to find that Hikaru was still acting like she didn't exist during classes - after all, he had straight up told her that what happened between them didn't change anything. But honestly, she didn't mind it all that much anymore, she was pretty much avoiding him too at this point. She couldn't even look him in the eyes after yesterday, and had decided that it was up to him if he wanted to make things right between them or not.

But what did hurt, although she wasn't entirely surprised by it, was that Kaoru wasn't really talking to her either. He wasn't exactly avoiding her - he still sat next to her in all of their classes together, and gave her small shy smiles here and there - but he didn't really talk to her, or walk with her to any of her classes. It wasn't until the end of fifth period that he finally came over to her desk, leaning against it casually as she gathered her books. "Nice uniform." He tugged on her jacket sleeve and gave her a small smile to show that he was just messing around with her, but she could see all the questions burning in his eyes regardless.

Dove shrugged, "I changed after the exams yesterday and left mine in Kaiya's car." She knew that didn't answer the question he really wanted an answer to, but she had already told him it would have to wait until school was over. She stood up, ready to leave, but he put his other hand on her chair, blocking her in. "Kaoru, move." She glanced up at him but he didn't look angry, just a little sad.

"I just wanted to ask you if you wanted to go somewhere with me after school. We've got a couple tests on Monday, I can help you study. And we can talk." His voice was even, but he added some emphasis to that last part - it was obvious he wasn't just going to let this go like she had kind of been hoping he would. Also, Hikaru clearly hadn't told him anything, which meant she was going to have to do it herself.

"Yeah, okay. I'll meet you outside after next period." She knew she had no other choice, unless she wanted to lose him completely, though she was pretty sure that would happen anyway.

"Don't be like that. I'll come get you from class." He removed his arm from her chair, letting her pass and she just shrugged. She had just assumed he'd rather meet her outside, because it didn't seem like he wanted to be seen with her at all today. Not that she blamed him, with the things that were being said about her. But, maybe he had just been trying to prove a point and now that he knew he would be getting an explanation from her after all, he was acting more like his normal self.

Sixth period passed quickly and Kaoru was waiting outside the classroom door as promised when it was over. He said nothing, but he took Dove's hand in his which helped ease her nerves just a little. He didn't tell her where they were going, and she didn't ask. Rather, she chose to enjoy the silence while it lasted, knowing that soon she would have to figure out a way to tell him everything that had happened.

But really, she didn't know why she had to tell him anything at all. It's not like he was her boyfriend, she didn't owe him anything right? And it had been pretty obvious from the start that he had known Hikaru was into her too and he hadn't seemed to care. She spent the entire limo ride trying to convince herself that it really wasn't necessary to tell him after all, that she could just leave out everything about Hikaru, and make up some lame excuse as to why she was at Honey's last night and leave it at that.

However, as they got out of the limo, and he held his hand out to her, holding it so delicately in his own as he led her over to a gorgeous lake surrounded by cherry blossom trees, she knew she had to tell him. More so, surprisingly enough a part of her even wanted to tell him. And not just about what had happened yesterday, but everything. Granted, it was a very small part, but something about Kaoru just made her want him to know her. Like, _really_ know her, the real her. And that thought scared her more than anything.

Kaoru laid out a big blanket on the grass and sat down, gesturing for Dove to sit too and when she did he spilled all of his textbooks out in between them and laughed at the mortified expression on Dove's face. He guessed she hadn't really thought he'd actually planned on making her study. He sorted through the books and separated two from the pile, pushing the rest aside. "Don't worry, we only have tests in Chemistry and History. It won't be that bad." Dove groaned and Kaoru laughed again, shrugging. "Or you could just tell me what's been going on with you first. Up to you."

Dove shook her head - she was enjoying that Kaoru seemed back to his usual self and she wanted to keep it that way for as long as she could. That way, if he ended up hating her after he found out she'd hooked up with his brother and been arrested, at least she would have one more happy memory with him to hold on to. "Fine. We can study. But you're wasting your time."

"I'm a good teacher." Kaoru smiled, and lifted his hand up towards her cheek but dropped it at the last second. It was hard for him to hold himself back like this. He wanted to hold her in his arms, to touch her hair, and kiss her cheeks. But he didn't know what was going on with her right now, and he knew her well enough by now to know that if he didn't give her reason to, she wasn't going to tell him anything. So for the next hour and a half, they talked about nothing but school work. Kaoru trying his very best to explain things in simple terms that wouldn't frustrate Dove. Originally, his plan was to motivate her by telling her he would kiss her every time she got something right. But considering the circumstances, he didn't really think that would be the best idea anymore.

Surprisingly, Dove had lasted much longer than he'd thought she would, but after a particularly difficult chapter of Chemistry she groaned in frustration, taking the textbook out of his hands and tossing it into the lake. "I give up! This is pointless! It's not like I even need to know any of this anyway!" Kaoru watched as his textbook sunk to the bottom of the lake and Dove shrugged at him apologetically. "Sorry, you can have mine. I don't even care."

Kaoru shook his head, unable to help himself from taking her hands in his, "I don't get it, why don't you even want to try?"

Dove rolled her eyes, "I told you already, it's pointless."

"But, if you don't do well in school, how are you going to get a job or do anything in life that matters?" Kaoru asked, genuinely confused. Coming from a successful family, it had just always been expected of him to do well in school - failing wasn't even an option.

"Look Kaoru, not everyone has rich parents with fancy jobs. And not everyone is smart like you either." She let out a frustrated sigh, and shrugged, "My mom didn't even graduate high school, and she's done just fine for herself."

Kaoru watched her curiously. He was concerned and wasn't sure he should even ask - he didn't want want to make her angrier - but his curiosity got the best of him, "Well... what does your mom do?"

All of a sudden Dove looked at him with the most serious look he'd ever seen on her face and seemed to be considering something. Really, she was trying to decided whether or not she should just come out and tell him. He was going to hate her anyway soon enough, so what did it matter? "You really wanna know?" He just nodded, and she took in a deep breath, deciding to just tell him now before she lost the nerve. "My mom she... she's a stripper. You know like, an exotic dancer. She works late nights at clubs where men go to get drunk and pay her to dance on stage and take her clothes off." She shrugged, like it was no big deal, "So that's why school is pointless to me. I just always kind of assumed I'd end up doing the same thing. I'm not all that smart, and dancing is just about the only thing I'm good at. And plus you get to drink for free."

Kaoru just stared at her in stunned silence. He didn't know what he was expecting but it sure as hell wasn't that. But it really did explain a lot. Of course she thought school didn't matter because she'd already given up and decided that she wasn't worth much. "But you're so much better than that..." he said sadly, without even really thinking and it had been the complete wrong thing to say.

"Better than _what_ exactly? Better than my mom? Better than all the women out there busting their asses every night to make money in the only way they know how? I'm not _better_ than anything, Kaoru. And if you knew what had happened yesterday you wouldn't think so either." Dove stood up, determined to just walk away and lose herself somewhere on the unfamiliar streets where she could just forget about everything that had happened and never come back. But Kaoru stopped her before she could.

Not even looking up, he grabbed her wrist, holding her in place. "Tell me."

There was no malice in his voice, and it wasn't a demand. He just sounded... lost. And something about the way he was holding onto her wrist - not tight enough to prevent her from leaving if she really wanted to, but gripping it just enough to show he wanted her to choose to stay - made her decide to listen. Not sitting back down, or looking at him, she slipped her wrist out of Kaoru's grasp so that she could hold his hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Yesterday, I left the physical exams early. I swear all I wanted to do was find an empty place where I could play my music and dance. But before I knew what was even happening, Hikaru was there and we..." she trailed off, not knowing how or wanting to tell him what happened next. Not to mention, it still hurt to think about it, since she had all these confused feelings for Hikaru that she didn't even know how to start making sense of.

But Kaoru wasn't dumb, he was able to put two and two together all on his own. "So Hikaru finally admitted his feelings then." He said, and his voice sounded sad but there was also a very faint smile on his lips.

Dove just shook her head, squeezing his hand so hard now that she wasn't sure how he didn't pull it away, "No. He just... Well he _kissed me_ but that's putting it mildly..."

Kaoru just held up his other hand, stopping her, "I don't want details. I knew this was bound to happen sooner or later. Hikaru has a strange way of showing his emotions. He doesn't fully understand them so just gets angry and eventually it all comes out in one way or another."

"Well either way, I'm pretty sure he hates me. I guess you probably do now too." Dove released her grip on his hand but he held on to hers, not letting her let go.

"Hikaru doesn't hate you. And neither do I. I knew from the start you liked both of us, it was pretty obvious." Dove looked down at Kaoru now, her eyes wide and he just shrugged, surprisingly calm. "We both like you, so we decided we would just... share." He grimaced slightly, knowing how bad that sounded, "Hikaru's word, not mine. We just figured you'd choose one of us eventually."

Dove didn't even know what to say there were so many thoughts running through her head. "So you just.. I... and you're _okay_ with all of this?" Great, she was back to not being able to form complete sentences.

"I'll admit, it does hurt a little. But Hikaru and me we're... well, we're close." He didn't offer more of an explanation than that, and Dove didn't ask, she was still in too much shock over the fact that not only was Kaoru not mad, but he had basically just gave her the go-ahead to do whatever she wanted with Hikaru. "But wait..." Kaoru started again, as he realized something, "That still doesn't explain why you spent the night at Honey's."

Crap. Dove had kind of been hoping he would forget about that. Sighing, she sat back down now, it's not like she had anything left to lose at this point. Besides, he had been surprisingly calm and understanding about everything so far, "I...might have gotten myself arrested last night and called Honey to come get me. I was kind of a mess and didn't wanna go back home. Nothing happened, I promise." She thought about how she had fallen asleep cuddled in Honey's arms but didn't think it was the best idea to mention that just now. She had told him everything else, and besides it had been innocent anyway, right?

Kaoru looked at her incredulously, " _Arrested?_ Dove... what did you do?"

Dove shrugged, "I tried to steal a few t-shirts. Really, it wasn't a big deal. I just should have been more careful not to get caught."

"Not a big..." Kaoru sighed, shaking his head, "I don't know what to do with you."

Dove looked over at him and blinked her eyelashes at him as innocently as she could, "You could kiss me." She suggested, feeling much lighter and less stressed now that she had gotten all of this off of her chest.

"Kiss you? No..." he shook his head and stood up, pulling her with him, "Come on, it's getting late. I'm taking you home before you find a way to get yourself into more trouble." Dove didn't protest - she didn't want to push her luck. So, she let him take her home and when they got there he walked her up to her doorstep. She looked up at him expectantly, hoping that maybe now he would kiss her, but he just gave her hand a little squeeze. "I'll pick you up for school on Monday. _Please_ stay out of trouble, at least until then." And then he was gone, driving off in his limo, leaving her alone with her thoughts.

* * *

Since Kaoru had taken Dove somewhere, Hikaru had been left to go home all by himself on Friday after school - and he couldn't have been more pissed about it even if he tried. It had been bad enough when he saw Dove getting out of Honey's limo that morning, wearing his clothes no less, and he couldn't understand how the hell Kaoru could even look at her after that, let alone hang out with her. She had hooked up with him, and then hooked up with one of his best friends a few hours later and then put it all on display for everyone to see.

Hikaru balled up his fist and punched a wall in his room as hard as he could, making a little hole. He pulled his arm back and punched again and again and again until his knuckles were bleeding, his hand was shaking, and the hole now took up a good portion of the wall. "Damnit!" He cursed, dropping his hand limply to his side, letting the blood drip onto the floor. He took his phone out of his pocket with his other hand to check his messages. It had been a few hours and Kaoru still hadn't answered him, neither had Honey. "Damnit!" He said again, and flung his phone across the room so hard that it hit the dresser mirror, breaking his phone and causing shards of glass to fall in shattered pieces all over the floor.

He wasn't even thinking straight anymore. At this point, he didn't even know what he was mad about, he just knew he was pissed. And pretty much every inanimate object in his vicinity was suffering for it. Eventually, after breaking a chair, a lamp and ripping a few pillows to shreds, he had ran out of steam and just sat on the edge of his bed with his head in his hands breathing heavily.

"What...what happened in here?" Hikaru barely registered Kaoru's voice as he was so lost in his own head, he hadn't even heard him come in, "Hikaru... did you do all this?"

Hikaru looked up at his brother, his earlier rage not yet completely gone from his face, "So what if I did?"

Kaoru was silent for a while, looking around their room and evaluating the damage. His eyes landed on Hikaru's hand which he was holding awkwardly at his side and had begun to bruise pretty badly. "Hikaru..." Kaoru said softly, and made his way over to his brother, ignoring the mirror shards crunching beneath his shoes. He picked up Hikaru's hand as gently as he could in his own and inspected it, turning it over and running his fingers over it pressing down lightly to assess how bad the damage was. Hikaru winced as he touched his index finger and middle knuckle. "I think these might be broken. Your whole hand is pretty badly bruised."

"I don't care." Hikaru snapped, pulling his hand out of Kaoru's pretty forcefully, causing him to wince in pain again. "Damnit!"

"Hikaru, we need to go to the hospital. I can't stand to see you in pain like this." Kaoru pleaded with his brother, his face scrunched up in pain at watching his twin suffer, even if he had done it to himself.

"What do you care? You left me for Dove _again_. Even after she showed up to school with Honey wearing his clothes. You didn't even text me back." He tried to sound angry, he really did but the hurt in his voice was clear as day to Kaoru.

Kaoru sighed, putting his arm around Hikaru's shoulder. At least that explained the broken phone, if nothing else "Don't ever say that. You know I care about you Hikaru. And so does Dove, by the way." Hikaru scoffed, rolling his eyes. "I know what happened. I didn't ask her for details and I won't ask you. I'm not mad, but you should've been the one to tell me."

"I didn't tell you because it doesn't matter. It meant nothing, and it's not going to happen again." Hikaru said with such resolve in his voice that Kaoru would maybe have even believed him if he didn't know him so well.

"You've been lying to me a lot lately, oniisan." Kaoru sighed, squeezing Hikaru's shoulder and tapping his cheek with his finger so that he would turn his face to look at him, "You really need to find a way to admit your feelings, at least to yourself. If you don't... I don't even want to think about what might happen." Hikaru just rolled his eyes but Kaoru wasn't done yet, "I'm serious, Hika. And just so you know, Dove didn't hook-up with Honey. I asked both of them." He considered something, and shrugged, "I haven't even kissed her yet, not on the lips. You're the only one who has. Just something to think about." He stood up, taking Hikaru's good hand in his own. "Come on, we're getting that hand fixed, whether you like it or not."

* * *

Saturday was pretty uneventful for Dove by her own choosing. She'd had enough drama in the past few days that all she really wanted to do was spent all day in bed eating junk food and listening to music. Kaoru hadn't texted her, but she wasn't all too worried after all, he had promised to pick her up for school on Monday. Despite that, she couldn't help her heart from skipping a beat when she woke up to her text tone Sunday morning. But it wasn't Kaoru, it was Honey.

 _Honey: Goodmorning Dove-chan! Want to go to an arcade?_

 _D: Yes!_

 _Honey: Okay! Pick you up in fifteen!_

 _D: Prepare to be destroyed!_

Dove couldn't help the big grin that spread across her face. Arcades were sort of her thing back home. She had never really had enough money for her own gaming system but whenever she was feeling down, or left a party early but was too drunk to go home, or even just when she needed some time to herself she would go to the little run-down arcade in her town. Honestly, it was probably the thing she missed most about home. That little arcade had been more of a home to her at times than her real home. She'd spend hours there with her headphones in her ears, playing Street Fighter and Miss Pac-Man.

Throwing on her favorite pair of ripped skinny jeans, a tank top with a galaxy print, purple converse and wrapping all her hair into a giant bun on top of her head she grabbed her phone and ran outside to wait for Honey. When he got there, in a limo as usual, she decided to try something, "Hey, do you think this place is close enough that we could walk?" She asked, tilting her head to the side, making her bun flop over.

"Sure! But it will take like twenty minutes at least. Wouldn't it be easier to just take my limo?" Honey asked, and she gave him a bright smile.

"Well sure, it would be easier. But what's the fun in that? Come on, I like walking." She wrapped her arm around Honey's shoulder and he put his around her waist, signaling to his driver that he could go, "Besides, between all the junk food I ate yesterday and all I'm sure we're going to eat today, I could use the exercise." She laughed, unable to help but notice how carefree she felt around Honey. Never for a second did he make her nervous or judged or stressed, everything was just sugar and laughter and now video games. She'd never had a friend like him before - he really was becoming her best friend.

When they got to the arcade, Dove's jaw dropped open at how big it was. She should have known these rich kids would even have a fancy arcade. But really, she couldn't help but admire it. There had to be thirty different old school arcade games, along with four massive TVs that had all the newer gaming systems hooked up to them with more games than she could count - most of them she'd never even seen before. Not to mention the counter at the front filled with all kinds of candy, chips and soda that Honey was currently buying all of. "Hold these." He passed Dove a mountain of snacks and grabbed more himself.

"Um, Honey? How are we supposed to play any games carrying all of this?" She laughed and peered at him over the piled up snacks.

"We eat them first of course!" He found a small table and dropped all of their treats onto it, and then shot her the best imitation of a smirk he could manage, "And that gives _you_ plenty of time to prepare for destruction!"

Sooner than should have been possible for two people so small, all the snacks and drinks were gone and Dove and Honey were in a face off on Street Fighter, pumped up on sugar and caffeine. Dove had chosen Chun-Li and Honey had picked Ryu and they were currently tied until a big explosion of blood went off and the "K.O." flashed on the screen. Honey pumped his fists in the air and Dove groaned, "How do you keep beating me? This was my game back home!"

Honey just grinned at her and patted her back, "It's okay, you're really good. I'm just better." He winked at her and she pouted, making him laugh, "Fighting is kind of my thing." He shrugged and Dove raised an eyebrow at him but he didn't explain. He just grabbed her hand and dragged her over to one of the big TVs, "Come on, let's play Guitar Hero!" Honey shoved a plastic Guitar into her hands and she looked at it confused, she had never played this before. "It's easy I promise."

Dove shrugged, slinging the little strap over her shoulders. "Oh wait! Before we play, I forgot. I have to ask you something." In all the drama of the past few days, she had completely forgotten the promise she had made to Rei. "So... my friend Rei kind of has this huge crush on Mori and I was kinda hoping maybe we could all go out somewhere together and try to set them up." She looked hopefully over at Honey and he blinked at her, looking a little confused.

"Like... a double date?" He asked her, running his hand through his hair almost looking a little nervous for a second.

"No! I mean, well yeah, kinda. Sure but like... as friends." Dove was a little flustered, though she wasn't entirely sure why and she reached over and ruffled Honey's soft blonde hair, "Don't worry, Honey-Senpai... I promise I don't have any plans to corrupt you."

Honey looked a little flustered himself, mostly due to the fact that she had referred to him as "senpai" which she had only done once before when fake flirting with him for Hikaru and Kaoru's benefit. But he quickly shook it off and grinned at her, "Sure, why not. Next week okay?"

Dove smiled back at him, "Okay, now why don't you show me what in the world I'm supposed to do with this plastic guitar."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Well, this chapter was certainly a rollercoaster ride! Honestly, it ended up completely different than I had originally planned, thanks to new music being released, Hikaru having a mind of his own, and some cute little ideas and daydreams I had about Honey but I'm really happy with it! I hope you all enjoyed! Also, Honey's name wasn't abbreviated in texts because Honey & Hikaru both start with "H". D: Little fun fact before I go, the arcade Honey & Dove went to exists! Well, sort of. It's based off an arcade I've been to called Yestercades. :)


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's Note:** So, my story has taken on a mind of it's own again & this entire chapter has absolutely nothing to do with anything that happens in the show. Certain canon-ish things will still be happening later on, but I'm actually pretty happy that this has steered off in it's own direction, I mostly just use show events as a mini guideline anyway. A lot is going to happen in the next couple chapters so just fasten your seatbelts & come along for the ride! Also, I'd like to give a shoutout to my awesome friend, **RavynLex** for being there to bounce ideas off of & being super supportive! Timeline is April 16th-19th.

 **Soundtrack:** "Hold Me Tight Or Don't" by Fall Out Boy (Hikaru's feelings for Kaoru)

 **Disclaimer:** If I owned Ouran, it would totally end up on the CW's 2018 fall drama lineup. But I don't. So no such luck.

* * *

Coming home on Friday night to find Hikaru with a broken and bloodied hand, sitting in a room filled with destruction of his own making had really made Kaoru re-evaluate his recent choices. The hours spent waiting anxiously in the Emergency Room while Hikaru ignored him, choosing instead to listen to Fall Out Boy so loudly in his headphones that everyone was staring at them had given him nothing but time to think. It was actually something in the lyrics of the one song Hikaru kept coming back to, repeating it at least five times, that made him realize exactly what he was doing to his brother.

 _The distance between us, it sharpens me like a knife._ This entire time, Kaoru had thought all of Hikaru's inner turmoil had simply been because he was having a hard time admitting that he had feelings for Dove. But what if that wasn't it at all? Or, at least wasn't all of it. He had gotten so caught up with his new infatuation that he hadn't even realized what this must have been doing to Hikaru. They had always spent all of their time together, and had never even considered letting anyone else into their own little world before. It had taken a lot for them to even decide to join Host Club and become friends with the other hosts. But this was different. This wasn't them still spending time together just with a group of friends. This was Kaoru, spending time with a girl on his own, without Hikaru.

And if he was being completely honest with himself, all the signs had been there he just hadn't noticed them - or had chosen not to. Hikaru had told him right from the start he hadn't been ready to let someone into their world just yet, and had repeatedly gotten angry with him when he "ditched him" for Dove. Kaoru had been so caught up in wanting to help her, in wanting to be there for her and make her smile, that he hadn't realized he had been completely neglecting his brother in the process. Outwardly, Hikaru might have been the stronger more protective one but when it really came down to it, he had always been way more dependent on Kaoru emotionally.

By the time Hikaru's hand had finally been x-rayed, wrapped in gauze and two of his fingers put in little casts, Kaoru was feeling pretty badly about himself. What else was it that song had said? _I'm pretty sure that this isn't how our story ends, so hold me tight or don't._ Usually, Hikaru was the one who would curl up next to Kaoru and hold him in the safety of his strong arms while they slept. However that night when they were finally back home and tucked into bed, Kaoru immediately wrapped his arms around Hikaru, ran his fingers gently through his hair until he fell asleep and held him as tightly as he could until morning.

They spent the entire weekend together, and while they hadn't really done much more than cuddle in bed watching movies and eating pizza, Hikaru's mood seemed to lift considerably. Even Kaoru had to admit - he hadn't realized just how much he had missed his brother. That's why when Monday morning came, he knew that as much as it might hurt or confuse Dove, he couldn't take her to school. If he did, it was almost guaranteed that Hikaru would become just as angry as he had been last week. He liked Dove, he really did. But he had known her for two weeks - him and Hikaru had been together their entire lives and his worry for his brother far outweighed any feelings he might have for her.

 _K: I can't pick you up today. I'm really sorry, but Hikaru needs me right now._

 _D: Ok._

 _K: Good luck on the tests today._

No response. Dove wasn't usually one much for long replies or being great at texting in general, but Kaoru knew she was probably angry with him. After all, they hadn't exactly left things on the best terms the last time he'd seen her. She'd told him some things about herself that he could tell she only did because he had pushed her to, and he hadn't exactly had the best reaction to any of it. And on top of that, he'd refused to kiss her - not for the first time either. But in all fairness, how was anyone expected to react to being told the girl they liked had no goals in life for herself except to become a stripper, had done who knows what with his brother, and on top of that had gotten arrested and didn't even think it was a big deal? Not to mention, he hadn't missed that comment about "being able to drink for free", he'd just chosen to overlook it for the time being because he hadn't really figured out what to do with that information just yet.

He wasn't at all surprised when Dove simply rolled her eyes at him when he said "good morning" and held the door to their second period class open for her. He had been anticipating this but he settled in to his seat next to Hikaru on the other side of the room rather than the one he had recently taken up next to Dove anyway. He really couldn't win - one way or another someone was going to be unhappy with him. But he couldn't afford to think about it anymore today, he had tests to take and customers to make happy at Host Club later. The last thing he needed was to face Kyoya's wrath on top of everyone else's.

The school day passed quickly and, despite all of his recent distractions Kaoru was feeling confident about his test scores. Although he was sure the same couldn't be said for Dove seeing as he had witnessed her turn her Chemistry test into a paper airplane and fly it straight into the trash bin. But he couldn't keep shouldering everyone else's problems. If she had chosen not to care, he supposed it wasn't his place to try and force her to. Hikaru at least had reverted back to his usual cheerful, wise-cracking self. So when it was finally time for Host Club, Kaoru was in a much improved mood. Which was a good thing since the host's customers appeared only to have eyes for him and Hikaru today upon noticing Hikaru's injured hand.

"Oh no! What happened?"

"Poor Hika-chan!"

"Kaoru-chan must be broken up seeing Hikaru-chan injured!"

"I bet Hika-chan got hurt protecting Kao-chan!"

"Ooooh I bet Kaoru-chan is playing nurse to Hikaru-chan, I wish I could see that!"

Their customers were a barrage of questions, sympathies and guesses as to what had happened and they soon formed an inescapable circle of yellow around the two. Kaoru knew it was show time, and he exchanged a glance with Hikaru who was unable to contain the smirk on his lips. He placed his hands on both of Hikaru's cheeks and looked into his brother's identical golden eyes as Hikaru put his good hand around his waist. "Hikaru... you were so brave, defending me against those thugs. I don't know what I would have done if you weren't there." One stray tear fell down his cheek, as Hikaru pulled him closer.

"Kaoru! Don't say that! Just the thought of what could've happened..." Tears shone in Hikaru's eyes as well and he moved his face closer to Kaoru's so that their lips were just inches apart, "I'll always be there, Kaoru." And though it was just a story and they were just acting, Kaoru could hear the truth in those last words even as the fangirls were screaming in delight, some even looking away blushing.

It wasn't until some time later, when the crowd had finally died down that Kaoru finally allowed himself to scan the room for Dove. He wasn't sure she'd come at all - he had noticed that when she was in a particularly bad mood she didn't show up. But, he couldn't help looking for her anyway. Not surprisingly when he did finally spot her, he found her in a corner of the room with Honey. Takashi currently had the two of them balanced on either shoulder, putting on a little show of strength for the girls around them.

Kaoru sighed, mildly annoyed but grateful that at least she wasn't sitting around somewhere stewing in her anger. He knew how much Dove's close friendship with Honey bothered Hikaru and he supposed it bothered him to some degree as well. But a part of him was also glad that she had someone she seemed so at ease with, even if that someone wasn't him - jealousy wasn't as big of an issue for him as it was for Hikaru. Besides, she would be easier to talk to and reason with if she wasn't in a bad mood.

The next day passed in much the same way, with everything seemingly back to normal but with one exception - Dove wasn't in school. Kaoru couldn't help but worry about her and was distracted the entire day because of it. All he could think of was the many scenarios in which she could have gotten herself into trouble. He knew she was reckless, though he didn't know the full extent of it, and he was currently lost in a vision of little Dove cornered in a dark alley surrounded by thugs twice her size when a hand waved in front of his face.

"Kaoruuu... hello? Anyone there?" Hikaru knocked lightly on Kaoru's head, snapping him out of his thoughts. "The bell rang five minutes ago, you've just been sitting there, staring. I thought I was going to have to kiss you, Prince Charming style to wake you from some cursed trance." Hikaru grinned, and kissed Kaoru's cheek.

Kaoru just rolled his eyes, "There's no girls here you know." But he couldn't help returning his brother's grin. He really was glad Hikaru was back to normal.

"Come on," Hikaru held his good hand out and Kaoru took it, grabbing his books and letting his brother lead him to their limo, "Let's go get my new phone."

Once at the Apple store, Hikaru became so caught up in picking out his new phone and accessories that Kaoru decided now would be the perfect time to check on Dove. He had a feeling they were going to be here for a while anyway, Hikaru never left any store with just the thing he came there to buy. Settling himself into one of the little stools in the corner, shaking his head at Hikaru whose arms were already piled high with who knows what, he pulled out his phone and tried to figure out what he should say.

* * *

When Dove had gotten that text from Kaoru Monday morning saying he wouldn't be taking her to school after all, she wasn't exactly surprised. Considering she hadn't heard from him all weekend, she assumed the time away from her had given him some time to think about everything she had said and he'd decided he didn't want anything to do with a girl like her after all. And she didn't entirely blame him for that - he was this well bred, educated guy with rich famous parents who didn't need some commoner girl he barely knew making a mess of his life - but that didn't mean she had to be happy about it either.

However, she wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of letting him know anything was bothering her either. So, she simply ignored his texts and made it a point to ignore him as well. Which really wasn't all that hard since her and Hikaru still weren't on speaking terms and Kaoru hadn't left his side the entire day. Still, it was strange not spending any time with Kaoru throughout the day. In such a short period of time, she had already gotten used to his presence and she mentally slapped herself for that - she knew all too well that guys never stuck around for very long, but she had let herself get caught up anyway.

By the time Tuesday morning rolled around, she was in no mood to sit through classes all day. Honestly, her only motivation to even go to school in the first place had been Hikaru and Kaoru and now neither of them were speaking to her. So she faked sick, claiming she had a bad stomach ache and then when her Aunt left for work, she took a walk down to the local skate park where she knew there were bound to be kids from Ouran Public High School hanging out.

Back home, the skate park had been where everyone went when they were skipping school but it was too cold out to go to the beach. And it seemed that here it was no different. There was a group of three boys around her age hanging out smoking cigarettes and doing (or attempting) tricks on their skateboards. She watched as one tried to grind the metal ramp off the side of the stairs that lead to the street but he was unsteady and fell off before he made it to the bottom. Dove couldn't help herself - she burst out laughing. Luckily so did the other boys and she offered her hand to the boy on the ground who was rubbing his elbow. "Good job. Really smooth." She grinned at him and pulled him to his feet, "I'm Dove. Mind if I chill for a while?"

"Sure, I'll never say no to a pretty girl." He grinned back, brushing the dust from his fall off his pants. He was taller than Dove but about average height and had wild dark brown hair slightly past his eyes that stuck out in every direction. "Kiba. That's Tao, and Caleb." He pointed with his thumb at the other two boys, one tall and lanky with short black hair and the other stocky and muscular with a long blonde ponytail and European features, respectively. Dove waved and they waved back. "I've never seen you around here before. You skate?"

Dove shrugged. "I'm new here. And yeah, sometimes. I don't have a board though."

"New huh? You must not go to Ouran High School. I swear I would've remembered seeing a girl with hair bigger than her body." Kiba laughed, and Dove just shook her head.

"I don't, I go to Ouran Academy." At that, Tao and Caleb rolled their eyes so hard Dove could've sworn they were going to roll right out of their head.

"Ouran Academy, huh? It's not every day you see a stuck up rich kid slumming it at the skate park with the commoners." Tao said, his voice dripping with sarcasm and Caleb elbowed him, as if to say "good one" and they both laughed.

Kiba just sighed, shaking his head, "Sorry, they have so little interaction with girls that they've forgotten how to talk to one." He shot his friends a nasty glare and they just ignored him, hopping back on their boards and heading over to the half-pipe to attempt more tricks.

"It's cool. Besides, they're not wrong. Most of the kids at OA are a bunch of rich brats. I only even got in because my Aunt teaches there." She pointed at the skate board in Kiba's hand and raised an eyebrow at him, "You mind? It's been way too long." Kiba just shrugged and passed her his board, lighting up another cigarette and watching her.

Dove was a little unsteady at first, it had been at least a few months since she had been able to skate. She'd never had enough money to afford her own board, so the only time she ever got to skate even back home were times like this when she would borrow someone else's. But soon enough, she got her bearings and was up on the ramp with the boys, hoping her skills - shaky as they might be - would cause them to reevaluate their wrong opinion of her.

She was actually doing pretty well, and had even momentarily forgotten about all the drama with the Hitachiin boys. That was, until her text tone went off and startled her right as she was getting ready to drop down off of the ramp and she went tumbling down, doing a little somersault and skinning her left knee in the process. She groaned, pulling her knee up to her chest and watching the blood stain her ripped jeans, silently cursing whoever it was that had texted her as the boys all laughed at her. "Yeah, yeah very funny." She pushed herself off the ramp so that she wouldn't be in the way and sat cross legged on the gravel, ignoring her bleeding knee as she checked her phone - she'd had worse injuries before. She groaned again upon seeing who had texted her - it was Kaoru.

 _K: I know you're mad, but can you just let me know you're okay? I've been worried about you all day._

 _D: I'm fine._

 _K: Do you have a minute? There's some things I want to talk to you about._

 _D: Go ahead._

Dove placed her head in her hands and made a little whining noise - she so wasn't in the mood for any of this right now. She really liked Kaoru but he always wanted to _talk_ about something and know how she was _feeling_. A part of her thought it was really sweet but an even bigger part of her just wanted him to stop trying so hard to get to know her on such a deep emotional level and just take things for what they were on the surface. "Hey Kiba, can I have one of those?" She pointed at his cigarette and pouted her bottom lip out slightly, "I seriously need one to deal with this." She waved her phone in the air and Caleb gave her a mock pout in return.

"Aw, trouble with the rich big-shot boyfriend?" He laughed, holding up a hand, "Wait, lemme guess, he can't decide whether to drive his Ferrari, or his Bugatti, am I right?"

Dove just rolled her eyes and Kiba shot him a glare, "Do you ever shut up, Caleb?" He handed Dove one of his cigarettes and lit it for her, "Here, but I want something in return."

"And here I was, just starting to think you were the nice one." She took a long drag off of the cigarette and exhaled, blowing smoke towards his face.

"Relax, I just want to know if I could have your number." When she looked at him skeptically he just shrugged, "I might know of some good parties and I just figured because you're new to the area, you could use someone with the hook up but if you're not interested..." Dove snatched his phone out of his hands and typed in her number hurriedly, causing him to smirk. "Knew you were a party girl." Dove ignored him, taking another quick pull off the cigarette and focusing her attention back on her phone, where she now had a huge paragraph waiting for her from Kaoru.

 _K: I know you were hurt I didn't pick you up for school, whether you want to admit it or not. It had nothing to do with you, not really. When I got home Friday night, I found Hikaru in our room with a bloody, broken hand. He had punched a huge hole in the wall and destroyed more than half the room. There's a lot going on with him. I told you, he has trouble processing his emotions. If anyone can understand that, it's you. I like you, Dove, but I needed to be there for my brother. And I know you probably won't want to, but you need to talk to him. He's too stubborn to talk to you first, and I'm at a loss of what to do on my own anymore._

 _D: He okay?_

 _K: A couple of his fingers are broken, and his hand is pretty badly bruised and cut up but it'll heal. His state of mind is what I'm worried about. I know my brother - this won't just get better on its own. Please talk to him._

 _D: I'll think about it._

 _K: That's all I can ask. Thank you._

Dove sighed, and shoved her phone back into her pocket. She was absolutely not the kind of girl to ever pursue a guy who seemed uninterested in talking to her. She got chased, she didn't do the chasing. She also _hated_ anything that involved talking about your feelings, or getting emotional - and she was pretty positive that Hikaru did as well. _If_ , and that was a very big if, she decided to try talking to him she was sure it wouldn't go over very well. But Kaoru had practically begged her to work things out with his brother, and she figured she owed him at least that much. After all, he had tried so hard to help her in school, and it was probably her fault for coming between them in the first place. Realizing it was getting late and her Aunt would be home soon, she bid goodbye to her new friends - well, to Kiba anyway, she wasn't all that fond of the other two - and decided that this was a problem for tomorrow. For now, she just needed to get home before she got into trouble.

* * *

The next day, Dove decided she was "well enough" to go to school, mostly due to the fact that she still hadn't figured out what to do about Hikaru and needed to talk to Honey. She supposed she could just text him, but she hated texting and besides she doubted he would be checking his phone much during school or Host Club anyway, and this really couldn't wait until the end of the night. The day went by painfully slow, because she had zero interest in anything going on in class and the only interaction she had with Kaoru was when he raised an eyebrow at her, obviously questioning her if she had made a decision yet, and she just shrugged back at him - she didn't know.

The end of the school day found her running through the hallways towards Music Room 3, knocking people over in her rush to get to Host Club before they started entertaining guests. She burst through the doors when she finally got there, red faced and breathing heavily, and all the hosts were staring at her like she was crazy which, if she was being honest, she probably was. "Honey! Can I... steal you... from Host Club... today?" She managed, in between gasps for air from all that running, "It's... important." She pleaded with him with her eyes and he in turn looked towards Kyoya for permission.

"Go ahead. I have a feeling this one won't take no for an answer." Kyoya said, reluctantly letting the smallest of the hosts go for the day and Dove gave him an appreciative smile before grabbing Honey's hand and dragging him out of the room.

"Is everything okay, Dove-chan?" Honey asked, looking over at Dove with concern as they walked hand-in-hand down the hallways.

Dove just shook her head, "Not here." She glanced at a few of the stragglers still in the hallways, who were as usual shooting her disapproving looks, "Outside." They made their way to the school's gardens in silence until Dove found a large cherry blossom tree that she had grown particularly fond of and sat down, her back pushed up against it and her legs stretched out in front of her.

Honey sat down between her legs, resting his head on her stomach and looking up at her with big curious brown eyes, "What's going on?"

Dove frowned, and absentmindedly tangled her hand up into Honey's thick locks, twirling strands around her fingers. "I don't even know where to start..." Honey reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar, taking a bite and holding it up in the air for Dove. Laughing, she bit into it as well, the sugar calming her nerves. She knew Honey had been the right person to choose to talk to. "Okay well, I guess I should start by telling you what _really_ happened the night I got arrested..."

She took in a deep breath, she wasn't used to this at all - opening up to someone. But she didn't think she could handle this all on her own anymore, "Hikaru found me in an empty classroom and he kissed me and well it got pretty... heated. After that he just kinda left me there alone and I..." she sighed, tugging on Honey's hair and nervously biting her lip. Part of the reason it was hard for her to talk about things was because it forced her to think about them, and thinking about them made her feel things. Honey waited silently for Dove to compose herself and she was immensely grateful for his patience. "Well, I wasn't exactly feeling too great about myself. So I went shopping and I tried to steal a few shirts and well, you know what happened from there..." Honey nodded, and she gave him a small smile at the recollection of how kind he was to her that night.

"Well, the next day Kaoru wanted to know what had happened and so we went to the lake after school and certain... things about me just kind of came out when he was trying to help me study." She groaned, not wanting to relive this either or for Honey to know anything that would make him think less of her but she knew it was all or nothing at this point. If she wanted his help, he needed all the facts. "I might have told him I was planning on becoming a stripper, like my mom, and then I got really mad at him for telling me I could do better. I told him all about Hikaru, and getting arrested too and he seemed okay but at the same time, I just... I don't know. He took me home like, right after that and since then he's barely talked to me."

She sighed sadly, both of her hands caught up in Honey's hair now, nervously running her fingers through it, "Except yesterday, he texted me since I wasn't in school. He said he was worried but really he just wanted to text me this huge novel about how he liked me but Hikaru came first and that I needed to fix things with Hikaru but I had to be the one to talk to him first because he wouldn't do it..." She paused and glanced down at Honey who was watching her intently, waiting to see if she was finished or not yet, "What do I do, Honey-senpai? I'm so lost..."

"Poor Dove-chan!" Honey's composure had finally broken, and he had burst into tears and turned around, flinging his arms around Dove's neck. She wasn't entirely sure what to do - she hadn't expected such a strong reaction from him. And she certainly hadn't expected him to feel bad for her. After all, most of her problems were of her own making, she didn't deserve his sympathy. But she had to admit, it did feel good to have someone on her side for once. Not judging her, not trying to "fix" her, just simply being there for her and sharing in her pain. So she held Honey close in her arms while he shed the tears that she herself couldn't until he calmed down and leaned back to sit on his knees, wiping his eyes.

"You need to talk to Hika-chan." Dove had opened her mouth to protest but Honey put his index finger against her lips, and she remained quiet, "The only way this will get any better is if you talk to him. He's not as big and scary as he tries to be." Honey gave her a sad little smile and wound a strand of her long hair around his hand and down his arm, "You two have strong feelings for each other. I see it, Kaoru sees it, everyone except the two of you see it. Talk to him during lunch tomorrow. If he gives you any trouble, I'll be right there I promise."

Dove took in a deep breath and nodded. She had known she most likely would have to talk things over with Hikaru if anything was going to get resolved but she didn't think she would've had the strength to do it on her own. Knowing that Honey would be there, willing to step in if he had to made her feel a lot more confident. She pulled Honey in close to give him another hug, and made her decision final - tomorrow, she would talk to Hikaru, whether he liked it or not.

* * *

Hikaru had been having a fantastic week. After the incident with his hand, Kaoru had focused all of his attention back towards him instead of Dove, and it had really put his mind at ease. Sure, he was still conflicted about his feelings both for Dove and for Kaoru, and seeing Dove with Honey all the time was mildly irritating; not to mention his hand hurt like hell. But physical pain he could handle, and he had pushed his feelings to the back of his head for the time being, choosing instead to focus solely on the fact that Kaoru was back by his side where he belonged. Not to mention, he had gotten an awesome new iPhone X along with every single accessory they sold for it, and an Apple Watch for himself and one for Kaoru. All-in-all, the positives were far outweighing the negatives for the time being.

Currently, he was in the middle of lunch with all of the other hosts, momentarily ignoring his food in order to take selfies on his new phone. He was struggling somewhat trying to use his left hand but he refused to let anyone else touch it. He had his arm wrapped around Kaoru's shoulder and leaned in to kiss his brother's cheek, snapping a picture just as Tamaki and Honey jumped up behind them to photobomb. "Come on," He said, shoving Tamaki playfully and grinning, "can't I get just one cute picture with Kaoru without you guys ruining it?"

"How could my beauty possibly _ruin_ a picture?" Tamaki shot Hikaru a shocked, mock-hurt look, "If anything, you should be thanking me for greatly improving the quality." Haruhi and Kyoya rolled their eyes at their friend's antics and Hikaru just shook his head, holding his arm out at an awkward angle to try and snap another picture. But before he could, he felt the lightest little tap on his shoulder and he spun around in his seat to find Dove, whose wide green eyes looked nervous and were focused on Honey rather than him.

"Um..." she started nervously, twirling strands of her hair around her fingers and he saw Honey give her a tiny nod out of the corner of his eye. She was looking up at the ceiling now - it seemed she wanted to look anywhere but at him. "Hikaru can we..." she paused again, glancing over at Kaoru now, who was watching intently and gave her an encouraging little smile, "Can I talk to you?"

Before he could even say anything one way or the other, Kaoru gave him a little push, "Go."

Hikaru sighed, and stood up out of his chair shrugging, "Fine, whatever." He agreed reluctantly, mostly to appease Kaoru and followed Dove - who now had wrapped about half of her hair nervously in a little spiral around her arm - over to the empty table next to the hosts. He could tell she felt uncomfortable as he waited for her to speak and he didn't blame her for that because he did too. He knew Kaoru was watching, and could practically feel Honey burning holes into his skull with his eyes. Not to mention all of the jealous, nosy fangirls that had noticed him get up and were now attempting to eaves drop on the pair. "Well? I thought you wanted to talk." He said finally, growing impatient.

"I do..." Dove bit her lip nervously and started tugging on her hair. Clearly, this wasn't easy for her, "I just thought maybe we could try being like, friends or something..."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow, "Friends?" He thought about that for a second. Could he be friends with her? Did he even want to be? No, not really. What he wanted was to pick her up, slam her down onto the lunch table, tangle his hands up into all that hair and take over the job of biting her lip. "No, I don't think that's possible."

She made a sad little noise that was halfway between a whimper and a groan and forced herself to look up at him, balling her hair up in her hands now and clenching it hard in her little fists. "Well then... if... I mean if you maybe..." she blinked up at him, struggling to get the words out; a little frown on her lips, her eyes basically pleading with him now. It was both infuriating and enticing all at once. "If you like me just tell me okay?" She said that last part so fast that the words all blended together and Hikaru had to think for a second to make sense of it.

He definitely hadn't been expecting that, and he just looked at her in shock for a minute not entirely sure what to do. Like her? He couldn't _stand_ her. Ever since she had showed up at Ouran Academy, she'd done nothing but mess with his head and come between him and Kaoru. How could he possibly _like_ her? Okay sure, he found her tiny body and big green eyes irresistible - not to mention all that _hair_ \- and every time he was in close proximity with her for too long his heart beat just a little bit faster. But like her? No, that just wasn't possible. Was it?

His conflicting emotions were swirling around in confused little circles in his head as he was forced to face them, and he was starting to get overwhelmed. So, he chose to focus on the one that most made sense to him as always - anger. He scoffed at her, rolling his eyes, "How could I possibly like a girl like you?" The hurt that flashed across Dove's features was immediate and he almost stopped himself and took it back. Almost. "I've heard what everyone says about you. And we both know at least half of it is true. You messed around with me _and_ Kaoru, and I don't believe for a second that you didn't sleep with Honey. I don't care what either of you say. You walk around acting all innocent but everyone here knows that you're really just a little - "

But he was cut off before he could finish. Honey had shoved him down onto the bench he was sitting on and had his little hand pressed hard against his chest holding him down. "Hikaru-chan... enough." The look on Honey's face could only be described as purely terrifying - the stuff of nightmares - and Hikaru fell quiet, averting his eyes from his friend. He might have been bigger, but he knew damn well that Honey could easily take him down if he wanted to. Hell, he could probably take on every single person in this cafeteria at once and still come out the winner. So, he wasn't about to test his luck. After a minute, Honey let him up and he headed back over to his original seat next to Kaoru, looking back only briefly to watch as Honey led Dove out of the cafeteria.

* * *

The rest of the school day had passed by relatively quickly and without another incident, though Hikaru had become aware of two things. One, Dove wasn't in their classes after lunch. And two, Kaoru did _not_ look happy. It wasn't very often that his brother got upset and Hikaru knew nothing good could come of this. If there was one thing he hated in the world more than anything else, it was Kaoru being upset - especially if he was the cause of it.

He had tried unsuccessfully to talk to Kaoru a few times throughout the rest of the day but each time Kaoru just shook his head, silencing him. Even during Host Club, things were strained between them. So much so, that Kyoya had told them to leave early and that everything better be fixed between them by tomorrow. Hikaru had been relieved to go home, being in no mood to entertain girls who really couldn't care less about him past how "hot" he was.

The limo ride home had been painfully quiet, and Hikaru spent most of it staring out the window downloading music onto his new phone after Kaoru had refused to even hold his hand. It wasn't until they had gotten home and were in their room - which still showed some signs of the previous week's destruction - that Kaoru finally turned to look at Hikaru. "I hope you're happy with yourself." Hikaru just shrugged and gave Kaoru an innocent look to which he shook his head, "Don't. I don't even know what to say to you. I was the one who told Dove that if she talked to you, she could fix things. That wasn't easy for her you know. And you just..." Kaoru trailed off and sat down on the edge of their bed.

"What do you want me to say Kao?" Hikaru knelt down in front of Kaoru and took his hands into his own, ignoring the pain in his right hand and holding them tight regardless. "That I'm sorry? _I'm sorry_ Kaoru. I can't make sense of what's going on in my head lately and just... please don't be angry with me. I can't handle it if you leave me."

The hurt in his voice was evident and Kaoru's expression softened, "Is that what you think? That I'm going to leave you?" Kaoru searched Hikaru's face for answers but he just gave a small little nod, and looked towards the ground. "I'm not going anywhere, Hikaru. Not ever."

Hikaru squeezed his twin's hands harder now, and when he finally looked up there were tears in his eyes, "You will. She's going to steal you from me." His voice was barely a whisper now, as he struggled to finally tell Kaoru what had been bothering him for weeks. "Dove is going to ruin everything between us, she already is, can't you see it? I don't trust her Kaoru, I don't trust anyone. No one but you..."

"Hikaru..." Kaoru spoke in a calming voice, trying to ease Hikaru's nerves and he pressed a soft kiss to his forehead, "If you trust me, then trust me on this. Dove isn't going to come between us, she's not even trying to. She never once told me to spend time with her instead of you, that was all you being stubborn. Honestly, I think it's your attention she wants more than anyone else's. She's been pretty broken up because of how you've been treating her. This isn't who you are, you need to make things right."

Hikaru closed his eyes when Kaoru kissed him, trying to memorize the sensation of his soft lips. He nodded when he was done speaking. He was right, of course. He could tell how much this was hurting Dove when he had spoken to her earlier, he could see the same struggle in her that he went through himself. And this wasn't who he wanted to be. He just couldn't get past this fear of losing Kaoru, the one person who meant more to him than anything, "You're right, of course you are you're always right. And I will. But Kaoru... just promise me that this won't break us."

There was so much pain, and so much confusion in Hikaru's eyes but Kaoru just smiled at him, being careful to only squeeze his good hand and looked directly into his eyes, "Nothing could ever break us, Hikaru."

Hikaru let Kaoru's words sink in for a moment as he searched his identical golden eyes for something, anything that would tell him what he was thinking of doing was okay. That he wouldn't be crossing some unspoken line that Kaoru didn't want to cross and ruining everything. But he couldn't find whatever it was he was looking for, all he saw in Kaoru's eyes was pure goodness and love; and he supposed that would have to be enough. After all, he was breaking all of his rules lately - letting a stranger into their world, owning up to his feelings - he supposed he might as well break the biggest rule of them all. So, very slowly, he leaned in towards Kaoru closing the real and metaphorical distance between them and pressed his lips softly against his twin's. He kissed him lightly, cautiously - not roughly like he had with Dove - and pulled back quickly, searching Kaoru's face for a reaction.

But he didn't get one. Kaoru's face was unreadable and he simply stared back at Hikaru. Not pulling away from him, but not saying or doing anything either. Hikaru took his good hand and placed it gently against Kaoru's cheek, "I love you, Kaoru. More than anything. I need you to know that. And I need to know I'm not going to lose you."

Kaoru just continued to stare at him, in shock or confusion or some mixture of both. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, he spoke softly choosing his words carefully, "I love you too, and you will never ever lose me Hikaru. But this?" He touched Hikaru's lips with the tips of his fingers, " _This_ will break us." At that, he stood up and made like he was going to leave the room but Hikaru grabbed his hand, holding on tight and he froze - wanting to leave but not able to make his legs move.

"Don't walk away, Kaoru." He whispered, standing up as well and wrapping his arms around Kaoru's waist, resting his head on his shoulder unwilling to let him go. He couldn't, he _wouldn't_ let Kaoru walk away. He knew he felt something between them too, if he hadn't he would have pulled away in disgust the second he had kissed him. But he hadn't.

Kaoru sighed, and turned around in Hikaru's arms, reluctantly wrapping his own around his twin's neck, "You know this won't last Hikaru, it can't."

Hikaru just nodded, unwilling to think about that right now and not caring anyway. All that mattered now was that Kaoru was finally in his arms where he belonged and it wasn't a show this time. There were no girls, no hosts, no costumes. Just them, together in their room. "I know. But for now, let's just pretend it can." He didn't give Kaoru a chance to argue or even to think. He pressed his lips against his twin's for the second time that night - the second time ever - and didn't let him out of his sight or out of his arms until morning.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Wow, okay so I'm ending this chapter way sooner than originally planned again lol. It was getting pretty long and man, that last scene emotionally drained me. But yay for Hika/Kao! Also for anyone who's wondering yes, my Kiba is a little nod to Kiba Inuzuka from Naruto. I couldn't help myself. There's gonna be a whole lot of drama next chapter so, bask in the warm fuzzies while you can! :D


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's Note:** Okay so, I got a little carried away with the warm fuzzies & trying my hand at writing some lime-type stuff sooo the drama is going to have to wait until next chapter. But it is coming, I promise! I was going to include it in this one & just make a super long chapter but it's been too long since I've updated & I figured you guys would probably rather me just post already. Timeline is April 20th-21st.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Ouran, Ouran owns me. (send help)

* * *

Friday morning found the Hitachiin twins cuddled up close together in their bed - Kaoru with his head rested on Hikaru's chest, and Hikaru with one arm draped around Kaoru's waist and the other hand tangled up in his hair. When Kaoru's alarm went off, he blinked the sleep out of eyes and tried unsuccessfully to detangle himself from his brother's embrace. Hikaru held him back, pulling him in closer "Leave it." He pressed his lips to Kaoru's forehead and then his nose and down to his lips, but Kaoru pulled away before he could do much more than lightly brush them against each other.

"We have school." Kaoru reminded him, trying again to get up to shut off his alarm and failing once more.

Hikaru gripped his hair a little tighter and pulled his face close, "Who cares?" He mumbled against Kaoru's lips, and brushed them together lightly again, moving them slowly up and down. When Kaoru stopped trying to pull away, he took this as the green light to keep going and he flipped him onto his back. He held his arms down at his sides and took his bottom lip between his own sucking on it, running his tongue across it and biting down softly. He moved down to his neck, kissing and biting it, Kaoru's heavy breathing the only motivation he needed.

"Hikaru..." Kaoru whispered breathlessly, and pulled one of his arms free since Hikaru didn't have a very good grip with his broken hand, and put it against his chest, holding him back. Hikaru stopped immediately and sat straight up, looking down at Kaoru nervously - he hadn't meant to get carried away. "It's okay." Kaoru assured him with a little smile, sensing his nerves, "Just... slow down, okay?"

Hikaru nodded and rolled over to his side, "Sorry," He grinned, placing his hand on Kaoru's cheek and turning his head to look at him, "You're just so irresistible, I couldn't help myself."

Kaoru laughed and shook his head, getting out of bed finally to silence the alarm that had gotten louder now, and get dressed for school, "You do realize we're identical right?"

Hikaru smirked as he pulled his school shirt on, "Yeah, and I'm pretty damn irresistible myself, don't you think?" He flexed his arm and shook his head so that his wild auburn hair stuck out in every direction and there was a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Maybe, just a little." Kaoru couldn't help but grin at his twin's antics. Though he wasn't entirely sure how he felt about this new change in dynamic between them, he couldn't help but admit a part of him liked the feeling that they were closer than ever. He had suspected for a while now that Hikaru's feelings for him might have grown past brotherly and he himself had found his heart racing on occasion during their little acts for Host Club. But up until now, he had just dismissed it as nothing and it hadn't been addressed. He supposed them having feelings for the same girl was what must have brought this to the surface, although it would have been bound to happen eventually anyway. That reminded him... "Hey, Hikaru?"

Hikaru threw his arm around Kaoru's shoulders, pulling him close as they made their way downstairs to their limo, "What's up?"

"Last night before..." Kaoru looked away, blushing and Hikaru couldn't help but smile - his innocence was adorable to say the least. "You said you were going to make things right with Dove. Will you talk to her today, oniisan?"

Hikaru nodded, "I will. Unless Honey-senpai decides to murder me the second I get near her." Opening the limo door and letting Kaoru slide in before him, Hikaru leaned in close to his twin once inside, pressing him against the car window. He twirled a strand of Kaoru's auburn hair and trailed his fingers down his cheek to rest on his lips. Those _lips._ He wanted to kiss them again so badly but he knew that was no longer possible now that they were outside the privacy of their bedroom. And anyway before he talked to Dove, he needed to know something. "Kaoru you didn't..." he paused, frowning. He wasn't entirely sure he wanted to know the answer to this question, but he needed to know regardless, "You still haven't kissed her yet, have you?"

Placing his hand over Hikaru's and entwining their fingers together, Kaoru shook his head. "Not on the lips, no." A little shy smile spread across his lips and his cheeks turned a light shade of pink, "Actually when you kissed me last night, that was the first time I'd ever kissed anyone."

Hikaru's eyes widened; he had been hoping but he hadn't really expected as much. Admittedly, when they would play their little games with girls who were interested in one or the other of them but couldn't ever tell the difference between the two, he had made-out with and felt up a fair few of them though it never went farther than that. He'd never known for sure but he had just assumed that Kaoru had most likely done the same. Apparently that wasn't the case. "I... didn't know." He smiled sheepishly - no wonder Kaoru had gotten so nervous before. Nothing in this world could have made him happier than to find out he had been the first person to ever kiss Kaoru's perfect lips though. His smile grew into a big grin and he rubbed the back of his head, laughing nervously, "Sorry just... that makes me happy, Kao. Really, really happy."

Kaoru couldn't help but smile back. It had been too long since he'd seen Hikaru this genuinely happy and it was certainly a nice change from his recent attitude. "Part of me wishes I had been your first kiss too." He mused aloud. Hikaru may have been oblivious to what he had (or hadn't) done with all of those girls, but he had known all along what Hikaru was doing. It had never really bothered him though, he had known they were nothing more than toys to him. But after last night, he just couldn't help that tiny part of him that wished they had been able to share that experience together.

"I'm sorry, Kaoru." Hikaru whispered, placing a small kiss on Kaoru's cheek, and his apology was genuine. He really was sorry, those girls had meant less than nothing to him and Kaoru was his entire world. He wished he had been able to give that special moment to his twin, rather than some random girl whose name he didn't even remember. But, he hadn't even understood his feelings back then, there was no way he would've been able to act on them. It was a miracle he'd even been able to last night.

Kaoru shook his head, "Don't worry about it, Hikaru. I was just thinking out loud." He smiled, and grabbed his twin's hand. "Come on, we're here. Where's that smile?" Hikaru squeezed his hand and shot him a big grin which remained on his face as they walked hand-in-hand to class.

* * *

Dove had _not_ wanted to go to school today. Okay, so maybe she didn't ever really want to go to school. But today in particular she just wanted to shove her headphones over her ears, pull the blankets over her head and stay hidden forever in the safety of her room. After the incident with Hikaru in the lunch room yesterday, Honey had tried to console her but without much success. She hadn't been crying and she wasn't even angry, which was surprising. She had just turned stone faced and couldn't stop shaking - being so blatantly rejected on top of all her nerves from having to confront Hikaru in the first place hadn't made for a good combination. Eventually, Honey had just sent her home in his limo with a promise to call her later.

She'd hoped she would wake up feeling better - usually after a good night's sleep she was able to just forget whatever terrible thing had happened the previous day - but that didn't happen. Hikaru hadn't just rejected her, but insulted her as well and she hadn't heard a word from Kaoru since. She had been hooked on those Hitachiin twins since her first day at Ouran Academy, and apparently this crush wasn't going to be an easy one to shake. But she had missed too much school already and her Aunt was starting to become suspicious. She had no choice but to go.

However, that didn't mean she had to actually be in class. After first period, she snuck out to the gardens to sit by her favorite cherry blossom tree and was content to spend the rest of the day there. Unfortunately for her, the teachers had begun to notice her growing absences as well and one of her classmates who had seen where she went was sent to collect her just before fourth period. She was also given a final warning - if she continued missing classes and failing tests, there were apparently going to be "consequences", whatever that meant. So that was how she found herself in fourth period, in her usual seat hyper aware of Kaoru's presence next to her and Hikaru behind her, wishing she could be literally anywhere else.

About halfway through class, she felt her hair tie being pulled back as something was slipped into it followed by a little tug on her ponytail. She turned around in her seat to glare at Hikaru - why was he still messing with her anyway, hadn't he already caused enough damage? But he just gave her a small smile, and pointed to the back of his head, indicating she should check what he had tucked between her hair tie. Sighing, she turned back around and reached behind her to grab the small piece of paper off her head. I'm a jerk, forgive me? Hikaru had written, followed by a little drawing of a very sad looking puppy with tears shining in it's enormous eyes. Not exactly an apology, but at least it was something. Dove gave a little shrug of her shoulders without turning back around and folded the paper up, tucking it in her bag.

At the end of class, just as Dove thought she had made it safely out of the classroom, Hikaru stood in front of her blocking her path and titled his head when she looked up to glare at him. "So, what's it gonna be princess? Do you forgive me?"

Dove scoffed, rolling her eyes, "Princess, huh? You sound like Tamaki. Besides, I thought I was just a 'little slut' anyway?"

Hikaru cringed, he should've known she wouldn't forgive him just like that. He really had been pretty harsh with her. "I never said that..."

"Yeah, because Honey stopped you before you could." Dove rolled her eyes again, "Anyway, I cant exactly forgive someone who didn't even technically say sorry." She took a step backwards, in an attempt to maneuver away from him but she didn't get very far. She collided with someone behind her, and she didn't even need to look to know it was Kaoru.

Kaoru wrapped his arms around her neck from behind and pulled her in close to his body, hugging her from behind. "Hikaru is very sorry, aren't you Hika?" Kaoru raised an eyebrow at his brother and Hikaru nodded, taking Dove's hand in his own and squeezing it.

At this point, Dove's mind was becoming clouded and her anger was starting to fade. "I um... you... Kaoru can't..." she sighed, and closed her eyes in frustration - there went her sentence forming ability again. Damn Hitachiin twins. "Need to hear it from you..." she finally managed, opening her eyes and doing her best to glare at Hikaru again.

Hikaru just smirked, he knew all too well the effect they were having on her. It was the same effect they had on all their customers at the Host Club. "Why don't you come over tonight and I'll show you just how sorry I am?" He brought her hand up to his lips and kissed it, letting them linger for a minute. "I'll feel much better about you having spent the night at Honey's if you spend the night with us."

Dove couldn't help the little squeak that came from her lips. Between the feeling of Kaoru's abs against her back and his arms holding her tight and Hikaru's lips on her hand all rational thought had flown right out the window. She didn't even care about the small group of girls who had formed off to the side, watching them and whispering. Nor was she entirely sure she wasn't dreaming. "Spend the night? With you?" Her eyes had grown huge and if it weren't for Kaoru holding her up she was sure she would have fallen over by now. "I don't know if - "

But Hikaru had leaned in close to her now, and she could've sworn her heart stopped, "Just say yes." He whispered into her ear, pulling back just enough to look directly into her eyes, hypnotizing her.

Dove had to remember how to breathe before she could speak and she forced herself to take in a deep breath, attempting to clear the fog from her brain but to no avail. That was it then, there was nothing to be done about it. "Yes." She managed, her voice barely even a whisper and Hikaru grinned, pulling her from Kaoru's embrace and throwing an arm around her shoulders.

"Told you I was irresistible." That comment was directed at Kaoru who just shook his head as he too put an arm around Dove's shoulders.

"Don't worry, I'll make sure he behaves himself." Kaoru assured her, though she barely registered any of what was going on at this point. She was vaguely aware that they were now walking in the direction of class, and they must have gotten there at some point because she found herself at her desk before she knew it, staring blankly at an unopened textbook. Had she really just agreed to stay the night at the Hitachiin's house? What did she just get herself into...

* * *

The rest of the school day had come and gone and after an hour away from the twins during sixth period, Dove had herself firmly convinced everything that happened earlier was just a very elaborate daydream she had constructed in her mind. Hikaru hadn't apologized, Kaoru still wasn't talking to her and they sure as hell didn't invite her to stay the night at their house. She was just slowly starting to lose her mind and was having trouble separating dreams from reality, that was all. Yes, that made much more sense. At least, that's what she had been telling herself until Hikaru's note from earlier fell out of her bag. She picked it up off the ground just as the final bell rang and she jumped letting out a little surprised yelp.

So, this was really happening then. She had really been invited (and agreed) to spend the night with two of the hottest guys in school - in all of Japan, probably. She couldn't help but be nervous and purposely packed her bag as slowly as she could to buy herself some time. Never in her life had she even spent the night at a guy's house before, until the night she stayed over Honey's. Any time things had gotten close to that point with anyone, she would always make up some excuse and leave before anything could really happen. _I should just tell them I changed my mind..._ she thought, just as she felt her bag being lifted from her arms, and then she herself being lifted off the ground and carried right out the classroom door before she could protest.

"You were taking too long." Hikaru stated, shifting her weight and she crossed her arms, refusing to put them around his neck and make this easier for him. She opened her mouth to demand to be put down but closed it quickly - she didn't trust herself to be able to form coherent sentences while Hikaru was carrying her like this. And anyway, as much as she hated to admit it, a part of her was enjoying this. Admitting defeat without even having really put up a fight, she threw one of her arms around Hikaru's shoulders, causing him to smirk.

Kaoru opened the door to the limo when they got there, sliding in first and Hikaru placed Dove down on the soft leather seats before getting in himself. Great, she was right in between the two of them again - there was no way they weren't doing this on purpose. Obviously the effect that they had on her, especially when they were together like this, hadn't gone unnoticed by the little devil twins. As Kaoru absentmindedly played with her hair, she couldn't help but remember the first time she rode in this limo and her face turned red as she wondered if maybe tonight, Kaoru would finally kiss her.

Noticing her red face, Hikaru slipped his arm underneath her knees and scooped her legs off the ground, laying them across his lap and flipping her onto her back, her head landing on Kaoru's lap. Dove couldn't do anything but stare wide-eyed up at Kaoru who just shook his head at his brother's antics but couldn't hide the small grin that crossed his lips. Suddenly, Dove was seriously doubting Kaoru's ability to make Hikaru behave himself because she wasn't all too sure that _he_ planned on behaving either. The worst part was, she wasn't entirely sure that she even cared.

Soon enough, their limo pulled up to what looked to Dove more like a castle straight out of a fairytale than a house. Okay, so their house wasn't castle-shaped exactly, but it was _huge._ When she'd seen Honey's house she had been sure that it had to be the biggest in the country, but the Hitachiin house - no, estate - actually made his look small by comparison. As she stood frozen in awe (it was even bigger than the school!) she barely registered the fact that she was being lifted off the ground again, by Kaoru this time, and carried across the grounds. "Impressed?" Hikaru had turned his head around to smirk at her and she just nodded blankly, still taking in her surroundings. Never even in her daydreams had Dove imagined herself being in a place like this, with guys like these two.

Kaoru carried Dove through hallway after hallway, and Hikaru had fallen back to walk beside them, holding the hand that wasn't around Kaoru's neck. Barely able to even register her surroundings anymore, the clouds in her mind had become so many that she was sure they would create a storm soon enough, and she wasn't sure she was prepared for whatever that would mean. Finally, she felt herself being placed down onto a soft surface - a mattress she noted - and as the twins both released her from their touch she was able to shake some of the fog from her mind and took a good look around the room.

It was huge, of course. In fact, her entire apartment back home could have fit inside of it twice over. The bed she was sitting on was king sized, placed up against a large window which overlooked beautiful outdoor gardens that reached farther than her eye could see. All the destruction Hikaru had caused the other week had since been cleaned up, so the room was nearly spotless - aside from the giant hole overtaking a good portion of the wall nearest the door. Dove raised an eyebrow, glancing at a Kaoru but he just shook his head and she gathered she shouldn't ask.

There were all sorts of pictures of the twins, and the Host Club along with a few posters on the wall, but one in particular stood out to her because it didn't fit with the rest. It was of a young Australian pop star with blue hair and mermaid scale tattoos. "Oceana Vaughn, really?" Dove rolled her eyes and couldn't help the judgmental tone in her voice. Sure, some of the girl's songs were catchy, but they were all so sappy and romantic and she couldn't picture either of the Hitachiin twins being fans of her music.

Hikaru just shrugged, "What? She's hot." Dove could feel the heat rising to her cheeks, and she huffed. Yeah, of course she was. She was tall, and thin with a beautiful singing voice, enough money to match the twin's own enormous fortune, and had admitted in an interview once that she had never touched alcohol or drugs in her life. _A much better match for either - or both - of the twins than I'll ever be..._ Dove's inner voice mocked her as she thought of her own troubled past, the fact that she was completely broke, couldn't sing to save her life, and her short curvy body. "I'm going to take a shower." Hikaru, clearly oblivious to Dove's troubled thoughts, stated and left the room, leaving her and Kaoru alone.

Kaoru gave Dove a small smile moving to sit behind her, and placing his hands on her shoulders, rubbing them slowly. She sighed, her indignation fading a little as she let herself relax into his touch. "We only have that poster because our mom designed the dress she's wearing in it, so she signed a copy and sent it over." He explained. Kaoru at least had been able to pick up on her frustration, observant as always. "Besides, I think you're beautiful." He had said it so matter-of-factly and Dove felt her face heating up again, though for different reasons.

"You think I'm..." She trailed off, her heart dropping into her stomach as she turned her head to look behind her at Kaoru who just winked.

"Beautiful." He stated for the second time, moving his hands from her shoulders slowly down her arms, entwining his fingers with hers and resting his head on top of her own. Her heart was beating rapidly at this point, as it so often did when Kaoru was this close. She loved how his body felt against hers, and she reveled in it. His strong arms, the heat that seemed to radiate off of him, and the sweet smell of coconut. He moved his hands to her waist and hiked her up so that she was sitting on his lap now and her breath hitched in her throat. Slowly, he started to place small, sweet kisses against her neck, making his way from one side to the other and she found herself wondering if his never ending teasing would ever stop. If he would ever give her what she wanted and kiss her and touch her in ways that were less sweet, or if he would forever just torture her like this. "I have to tell you something." He mumbled against her neck and she groaned - the last thing she wanted to do right now was talk.

"Nooo," She whined, leaning in closer to him, urging him not to stop but he wasn't phased. He grabbed her legs and swung her around so that she was sitting on his lap sideways now and opened his mouth to speak but he didn't get the chance. Dove had finally had enough. She decided it was about time to take things into her own hands. Swinging one of her legs around, she faced him now, straddling his waist, and wrapped her arms around his neck.

She only looked at him briefly - knowing that if she waited any longer she would get too nervous or he would snap out of his shock and stop her - before crashing her lips into his. Surprisingly, he didn't push her away and suddenly she was wishing she'd had the confidence to do this much sooner. He rested one hand on her lower back, and pulled her hair tie out with his other, tangling it into her mass of hair once it was loose. She kissed him urgently, weeks of his teasing making her desperate, and removed one of her hands from around his neck to place it on his chest and push him down onto the bed. She hovered over him now, not removing her lips from his and holding herself up with one hand on the mattress, letting the other slip underneath his shirt to finally feel the hard muscle.

She whimpered softly, grinding her hips unconsciously against his body, having half a mind to rip his shirt off and kiss him all over but not wanting to remove her lips from his after waiting to taste them for so long. She couldn't help but note how different kissing him was than kissing Hikaru. Hikaru was rough and dominant - he was controlling and more confident than anyone she had ever kissed before. Kaoru on the other hand seemed more than happy to let her take charge and do as she pleased, and was as soft and gentle with her as Hikaru was aggressive.

However, just as Dove had decided to hell with it and was attempting to remove Kaoru's shirt while still keeping her lips attached to his, it seemed he'd had enough. He placed both of his hands on her shoulders and pushed on them, not forcefully but with enough strength that it made her sit upright, and she peered down at him, flustered. "Feel better now?" He asked her breathlessly.

She shook her head, trying to clear just enough of the fog from her brain to form an answer, "No, but getting there." She tried to lean back down to kiss him again but he had a firm grip on her shoulders and held her back. Clearly, he'd had enough strength to stop her the entire time if he'd wanted to, and really had been the one in control despite what she had initially believed. He was just letting her have some fun, and now that fun was over. She pouted, giving up reluctantly and sitting back onto his legs.

He smiled at her - almost more of a smirk than a smile - and sat up, holding her on his lap again. "The reason I even let you get away with that actually has to do with what I wanted to talk to you about." Dove raised an eyebrow, curious and a little confused now. It was at that moment that Hikaru came back into the room, Dove's eyes widening and unable to stop staring at him because he was wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist. Finally, one of the Hitachiin twins was shirtless at a time that she could absolutely do something about it. But did she really want to kiss Hikaru right after what had just happened with Kaoru? Could she really cross that line? Would they even let her?

Kaoru was moving her now, sliding her off of his lap to sit on the bed and he got up, making his was towards Hikaru. "You know, I think you'd rather show than tell." Dove only had a second to be confused. Soon enough, Kaoru had crossed the room, and he wrapped his arms around Hikaru's bare waist, pulling him close against his body. He glanced briefly up at Hikaru's eyes, asking for permission and he must have gotten it because he pressed his lips against Hikaru's, kissing him softly but passionately.

If Dove's jaw could have opened wide enough to hit the floor, she was sure it would have. She stared at the twins before her with a mixture of shock, disbelief, complete and total confusion, and an overwhelming desire to join them that she tried desperately to ignore. She briefly thought about all the Host Club fangirls who would pay good money, and possibly even kill to witness what she was currently seeing and felt a slight warmth at the fact that they were trusting her with what she was sure was supposed to be a well kept secret. They always insinuated it, and she'd had a feeling there was something going on, but it had never been outright confirmed. Until now.

When the twins pulled apart, they both turned to gauge Dove's reaction. Kaoru looked concerned but Hikaru just laughed, crossing the room to sit next to her. "I think we broke her, Kaoru." He waved a hand in front of her eyes and she turned her head slowly to look over at him, unable to stop her eyes from wandering down his almost-naked body. "Like what you see?" He smirked - he was having way too much fun with this entire situation. He glanced over at Kaoru and raised an eyebrow, silently communicating something with him and Kaoru just shrugged. Leaning in close to Dove, Hikaru placed one hand on her cheek and pressed his lips against hers, kissing her roughly though she was so completely overwhelmed at this point that she was barley even able to kiss him back. Hikaru pulled back and grinned as she just stared at him.

Finally, Dove managed to snap herself out of it somewhat and stood up off the bed, needing at least a little distance to be able to think straight. She looked back and forth between the twins, not entirely sure what was going on, what to say, or who to say it to. She finally decided to focus on Kaoru - at least he was fully clothed which would make it somewhat easier to think. "You... Hikaru... is this a game? Or... or a test?" If this was in fact a test, she was sure she was failing it. After all, she had kissed both of them within minutes of each other, that couldn't be what they _wanted,_ could it?

Kaoru just shook his head and crossed the room to sit on the bed next to Hikaru, forcing her to turn around and look at both of them. "I promise you this isn't a game. Or a test." He patted the spot on the other side of him but she just shook her head. "Come on, we won't bite."

"Hard..." Hikaru added, smirking.

"You're not helping." Kaoru shot a glare at his brother who just shrugged and stood up, grabbing Dove's hand and guiding her to sit back down on the bed - in between the two of them again, much to her dismay. "Can I explain?" Kaoru asked, squeezing Dove's other hand and she gave a small nod, trying to clear the clouds from her mind the best she could. Though, she figured it didn't matter much at this point, the storm had indeed already come to pass. Or, at the very least, she was right in the middle of it.

"The reason Hikaru had been acting like the world's biggest jerk," he glared at Hikaru again who just grinned sheepishly, "Is because he was worried you were going to come between us. So last night he... well, we kissed." He glanced down at Dove, but she didn't show much of a reaction except for squeezing his hand so hard that it felt like it might break. "It was my first ever kiss." At that, Dove glanced up at him, questioning and he nodded, "Yes, that's why I wouldn't kiss you before. I think a part of me really wanted that special moment to be Hikaru's alone." He smiled at Hikaru who flushed slightly pink and gave him a small smile in return.

Dove took in a deep breath, attempting to gather her thoughts, "So you're... together now?" She glanced over at Hikaru who didn't seem to have an answer for her. If anything, he actually looked like he'd very much like to know the answer to that question himself.

Kaoru just looked like he was deep in thought, and he took a while to think before he answered. "No, not exactly. Honestly, it's all really new. I don't know what we are, or what we ever can be really, but since you seem to have become a part of whatever this is, I thought you had a right to know."

Well, at least his answer had been honest, if not very informative. Dove was silent for a minute, trying her best to clear her mind and think. She supposed she should be disgusted by this, two brothers making out with each other and having feelings for each other that far surpassed that of which they should - most normal people would be. She was sure that even the Host Club fangirls, who always squealed over Hikaru and Kaoru's little act, would most likely be horrified if they knew just how far they really went, knowing how judgmental those girls were.

But whether she should be feeling that way or not, she wasn't. Nothing about what the Hitachiin twins were doing was appalling to her - if anything, she was just happy to finally find out why Hikaru had been so awful to her. It was a relief to know that it hadn't been any fault of her own, not really. She felt said twin squeeze the hand that he was holding and she glanced over at him; he had a worried expression she had never seen on his features before. Obviously, he was growing nervous because she had been silent for so long. She gave his hand a little squeeze in return, not wanting him to worry but not quite ready to speak yet either. She squeezed the hand Kaoru was holding at the same time as well, and thought of something else.

If they were telling her this, it meant two things. One, they obviously trusted her now if they were willing to share such a personal secret with her. And two, she wouldn't have to choose between the two of them - at least not any time soon - which was more comforting than anything else because she hadn't yet been able to figure out which of the two she liked more. If she was being honest with herself, she didn't really like either of them _more,_ she just liked them both differently. Hikaru; the dominant, wild, dangerous brother. And Kaoru; the sweet, caring, sensitive brother. She didn't want to have to give up either of them. "Okay." She said suddenly, and to no one in particular.

"Okay?" Hikaru asked, turning her head with the hand that wasn't holding hers so that she would look at him, "You sit there making us wait for ten minutes, and all you're going to say is okay? Okay _what?_ " He sounded frustrated and his voice had grown progressively louder as he spoke.

"Hikaru." Kaoru shot his brother a look to say _shut up_ and turned Dove to look towards him instead, "Do you mean to say you're okay with all of this?" Dove studied his face for a minute before starting to nod slowly but he stopped her, gripping her chin with his hand. "Wait. I want you to know exactly what you're agreeing to." He glanced over at Hikaru who nodded at him to continue, "We're not putting any labels on this, at all. It's too new and too... confusing. Hikaru and I need to figure out what's going on between the two of us. But we both like you too so, you can also be with both of us without feeling guilty. I mean, if that's what you want."

"But neither of us can be in a separate relationship with a girl who's going to try and break us apart." Hikaru added, making it clear to her that neither himself nor Kaoru would ever be hers and hers alone, "Oh, and that doesn't mean you can just go ahead and be with any other guy you want either. You belong to us."

"She's not our property..." Kaoru protested but Hikaru shook his head, not willing to bend on this issue.

"She's _ours."_ He glanced down at Dove who was looking at him now and stared directly into her eyes, "You're _mine_. And Kaoru's. But that's it." He needed it to be clear to her that just because they were willing to share with each other, didn't mean he was at all okay sharing with anyone else.

Dove stared back at Hikaru, a hint of defiance in her eyes but she had already known what her answer would be, no matter what their conditions were. There was just something about these boys and she knew somewhere inside of her that this was probably wrong on so many levels, and could potentially end very badly, but she had so quickly become addicted to them. They were like cigarettes; once you had one hit, you kept going back for more whether you wanted to or not. But she definitely wanted to. She leaned in close to Hikaru, not breaking eye contact with him and placed one small soft kiss against his lips, "I'm yours." She whispered as she pulled back and she turned towards Kaoru, kissing him in the same way, "All yours."

* * *

When Dove woke the next morning, the first thing that registered in her mind was that she was warm - so amazingly, wonderfully warm. She yawned and snuggled up closer to Kaoru, remembering now that she had fallen asleep with her head on his chest, and Hikaru's arms wrapped around her waist. She could still feel Hikaru's strong arms holding her tight even though he was still sleeping and Kaoru's bare skin was so impossibly soft against her cheek. Her heart started racing again, much as it had last night when the twins had informed her that they slept shirtless. She herself was wearing nothing but one of Kaoru's t-shirts that luckily reached down to her knees since she was so small - there was no way she had been going to sleep in her school uniform.

She placed a few sleepy kisses on Kaoru's chest, not wanting to waste this moment, and he kissed the top of her head in return - she hadn't realized he was awake. "Morning..." she mumbled against his skin, yawning again.

"Goodmorning, little bird." Kaoru smiled and surprised her by kissing her lips softly - she supposed now that he had gotten his first kiss out of the way he was less nervous. She kissed him back greedily, deepening the kiss and letting one of her hands wander over his chest, absentmindedly grabbing onto one of Hikaru's hands with her other. She felt him stir and a part of her - a very naughty part of her that she had been trying very hard to keep under control - really hoped he would wake up soon and join in.

It seemed like her daydreams were all becoming a reality lately, and this trend didn't seem to intend on breaking anytime soon. Hikaru did indeed wake up, and he started kissing her neck, softly and sleepily at first and as he started to wake he began sucking and biting on it. She had been trying very hard not to make any noise, but he suddenly bit a very sensitive part of her neck, causing her to moan softly against Kaoru's lips. She could actually feel Hikaru's smirk against her skin as he sucked on that spot. She whimpered and started kissing Kaoru more forcefully in return.

This was nothing short of every girl's dream, but it was also extremely overwhelming. Her heart felt about ready to explode out of her chest and her body had begun reacting so strongly that she didn't think she was capable of stopping this anytime soon, nor was she entirely sure she wanted to. And she knew for damn sure Hikaru wouldn't stop of his own accord. That left only Kaoru, who was the most rational and in control of his emotions of the three. Hikaru now had one of his hands on her thigh and was slowly working his way up, making her squirm and move closer to him without really thinking about it, running her hand up and down Kaoru's chest, exploring his body as Hikaru explored hers.

Suddenly, Hikaru's hand wandered a little too high, and she squeaked in alarm, "Ah... Hika...ru." She said breathlessly and her eyes snapped open, both nervous and intrigued at the same time. Before she knew what was happening, Kaoru had grabbed Hikaru's hand, and detached his lips from Dove's, breathing heavily and Dove could feel his heart racing even faster than her own.

"I think that's enough, for now." He glanced over at Hikaru who just pouted at him, his eyes sleepy and lust filled.

"Aw, come on Kao." Hikaru protested, lacing his fingers with his brother's and pulling him close, nearly squishing Dove between the two of them, not that she minded. He leaned in closer to Kaoru and pressed his lips against his, biting down on his bottom lip as he detangled his other hand from Dove's hair and started rubbing her thigh again, relentless as he was.

"Hikaru..." Kaoru said breathlessly against his twin's lips and pulled away, his face completely flushed now. "You're getting carried away."

"I don't think _she_ minds." Hikaru smirked, looking down at Dove who had her back pressed up as close against him as she could possibly get and was staring up at the two of them, "Do you, princess?" Dove shook her head, lacing her fingers with the hand Hikaru had on her thigh and moving their hands up higher together, causing his smirk to widen. "See? Nothing to worry about." He pressed his lips against his brother's once more, but Kaoru pulled away again causing Hikaru to nearly whine in protest.

"I'm not ready for all this yet, Hika. I told you that already yesterday morning." Kaoru pleaded with his brother to understand. He wondered if he should just go ahead and keep going, even if he wasn't completely comfortable. Hikaru and Dove were both much more experienced than he was, even if neither of them had gone all the way yet. But he wasn't sure that he could, even if a part of him really wanted to.

"Hikaru, don't push him." Dove said suddenly, pushing herself into a seated position and Kaoru gave her a small grateful smile. She nodded at him, understanding. She knew what it felt like to be pressured into something, "You don't have to do _anything_ you're not ready for. It's okay, Kaoru." She reached around him to rub his back, trying to calm his racing heart but he removed her hand as well.

"I just... I'm going to get some coffee or... something." Kaoru pushed himself up and off the bed, and grabbed a shirt off the floor, awkwardly fumbling with it before heading out the door of their room, and down the stairs to clear his head.

Hikaru wasn't one to pass up an opportunity, and he straddled Dove, pushing her back down against the bed. "You'll give me what I want, won't you?" He pouted his bottom lip out and raised an eyebrow, somehow managing to look both adorable and sinister at the same time.

Dove looked up at him and was torn. Half of her felt like she wouldn't be able to deny Hikaru anything, not to mention her body was screaming at her to say yes. But the other half was a little wary at what exactly it was that he wanted. She may have been willing to go farther than Kaoru was, but that didn't mean she was ready to go all the way just yet. Not that she was exactly saving herself or anything like that, but she did want it to be special. "That depends, what is it that you want?"

He leaned down, pressing his lips against hers, biting down hard on her bottom lip and pushing his tongue into her mouth. She kissed him back, her brain clouded again and he grinned against her lips, pulling back just slightly. "That doesn't matter." He whispered and his lips brushed against hers teasingly, "You're mine," he practically growled as he leaned down nipping at her neck, "you should give me _anything_ I want."

She knew that his arrogance should have irritated her, but if anything it was quite the opposite. The way he basically demanded she give in to him well, she hadn't thought it was possible for him to get any hotter than he already was but somehow he had managed to do so. She ran her hands up and down his chest, loving the feel of his hard muscles beneath her fingertips and bit her lip, looking up at him. She wanted him, badly. But she also wasn't too sure Kaoru would be okay with them taking things farther, she didn't really know what the rules were in this situation and she didn't want him to get hurt. "I don't want to deny you anything, Hikaru. But you should really go spend some time alone with Kaoru, he seemed upset."

Surprisingly, he didn't seem mad, he actually gave her a small smile, "Yeah, you're probably right." He moved off of her and pulled her back up into a seated position. "I'll bring you home first. Give him some time to think." Dove smiled, and let Hikaru take her hand and lead her downstairs and through their enormous house. She like this side of Hikaru, the side of him that seemed (almost) like he cared about her. She knew she had to be very careful not to get used to this, but she also knew it was far too late for that.

* * *

Kaoru sat alone with his hands folded on the kitchen table, an untouched cup of coffee and plate of fruit in front of him. He was vaguely aware of the sound of footsteps followed by the distant slamming of a door shortly after and he assumed Hikaru must have been taking Dove somewhere. He felt a little pang of sadness, twinged with jealousy and he knew he shouldn't be feeling this way but couldn't help it regardless. He liked Dove, he _really_ liked her; and there was no one in the world that he loved more than Hikaru. He thought it was interesting that Hikaru had been worried Dove would steal him away because he knew in his heart it was quite the opposite - it had been from the very beginning.

Neither of them could see it, but he was painfully aware of what they weren't. Hikaru and Dove were similar, and because neither of them were good at admitting to or understanding their own emotions, they had both needed him to help push them together. And for now, they still needed him. But he knew, deep down, that eventually there would come a day when neither of them needed him anymore. When they had been together for long enough and begun to understand their feelings for each other. Sure, Hikaru might love him more than anyone else, but they could never really _be_ anything to each other, not really. The world would never accept a relationship like theirs. And Dove well, she would never choose to be with him rather than Hikaru. She was wild and reckless, everything his brother was and he wasn't - he could never keep up with her and eventually she would tire of being held back by him, they both would.

But that didn't matter, he had known from the start that he would always sacrifice his own happiness for his brother's no matter how much it hurt. But that was also why he couldn't let things go too far. He was scared - so very scared - that the more he kissed Hikaru, the closer he let him get in _that_ way, the harder it would be for him to let go when it was time. And as for Dove, he knew going farther with her would only make him get attached and then he would want to keep her all for himself. Either way he was going to get hurt, but the least he could do was try to make it hurt as little as possible. He sighed, taking the tiniest sip of his coffee that had long since gone cold and swirling it around with a spoon, watching the little tornado he had created. It was fitting, he thought, for he had indeed created a tornado and he wondered just how bad the destruction would be and if the damage caused would even be able to be repaired.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I hope my attempt at limes wasn't too awful, lol. This really is the end of the warm fuzzies for a while though guys, for real this time! Prepare yourselves, next chapter is going to be a crazy one. I'll try to update asap. It really only took me so long this time because I took a break to write a one-shot. Check it out if you want, it's Hika/Kao related!


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's Note:** Have you guys prepared yourselves for all the drama? Yes? Good. Let's get right to it then and please remember to keep your hands and feet inside the ride at all times! :D And sorry for the slow update again, my iPad fell and the screen smashed & then the repair place completely broke it so I wasn't able to write while they were replacing it plus I got the Ouran manga box set so I've been reading! Timeline is April 22nd-24th.

 **Soundtrack:** "Duality" by Set It Off - just, Hikaru's emotions. Had this on repeat at times when writing for him this chapter. "Starving" by Hailee Steinfeld - how Dove is feeling about Kaoru towards the end of the chapter

 **Disclaimer:** I own everything, it's all mine! ...sike, my bank account has determined that is a lie.

* * *

After Hikaru had brought her home Saturday morning, Dove spent the rest of the day curled up in bed, still in Kaoru's t-shirt streaming superhero movies on her phone and pausing only to check her texts. She had gotten one from Honey, letting her know that he had somehow gotten Mori to agree to go on a double date on Monday, and one from Kaiya asking her to hang out with her and Rei tomorrow. She responded "okay" to both - she really was terrible at texting. But she just couldn't find it in her to care all that much about anything else after what had just happened. In all honesty, she was still having trouble wrapping her head around it all, and the only thing on her mind was the Hitachiin twins.

As she watched Spider-Man trying to save his friends from an elevator, she briefly imagined herself as his love-interest and wondered which of the twins would be the one trying to save her in that situation. Kaoru, definitely Kaoru. He was absolutely the save the day, get the girl type of guy. She grinned to herself, thinking that Hikaru would much more likely be someone like Deadpool - sarcastic and completely twisted but with a heart of gold underneath all that sass. And it was almost fitting, since their costumes were so similar, and yet they were such different characters.

By the time Sunday came, Dove showered in the morning before she went to meet her friends, but had put Kaoru's shirt right back on, inhaling in his scent that still clung to it deeply. There was that wonderful coconut smell again, mixed with something that was almost like when you step outside after a big rainfall, and everything just smells so fresh and sweet. It sent shivers down her spine, and made her heart race as if he was right there next to her, and she loved every second of it. As she walked to the cafe where her friends had told her to meet them, she did something she had never before done when it came to guys (or anyone really) - actually texted him first.

 _D: Can't get you off my mind..._

 _Kao: It must be pretty bad, for you to actually message me first._

 _D: Very funny._

 _Kao: I'm happy you're thinking of me._

She closed her phone, not sure what else to say, embarrassed enough as it is that she had let him know she was thinking about him. Honestly, she wasn't even sure why she had done that she wasn't really the romantic share-your-feelings type of girl. But, she also hadn't thought she was the kind of girl to be in a relationship with two boys at once either. Not that it was really a relationship, she reminded herself, they had said no labels after all. Trying to shake her head free of the stubborn clouds she spotted her friends sitting at an outdoor table in front of the cafe waving her over. "Hey Dove!" Rei smiled, and pushed a plate of small sandwiches over to her as she sat down.

Kaiya looked her up and down, raising an eyebrow, "What are you wearing? That shirt looks like it's three sizes too big on you."

Dove couldn't help but blush and she twisted the fabric of the shirt around in her hands, "Oh um... it's Kaoru's, actually..." Rei gasped and clapped her hand over her mouth and Kaiya's jaw dropped and she looked like she was about to say something but Dove felt her phone buzz and held up her index finger, "Hold that thought."

 _Kao: It's because of the shirt isn't it?_

 _D: Maybe._

 _Kao: I might have let you keep it on purpose._

 _D: I'm still wearing it..._

 _Kao: I really love the idea of you going out wearing my clothes._

Dove flushed red and closed her phone again, unable to remove the big grin that had formed on her lips. When she looked up, her friends were both staring at her. "Okay, you _have_ to tell us what's going on! Was that Kaoru you were texting? Come on tell me it was!" Kaiya practically squealed and Dove couldn't help but laugh at her friend.

"So what if it was?" She raised an eyebrow looking between the two girls - Rei who couldn't stop staring at her with wide eyes, and Kaiya who was practically ready to jump out of her seat. She sighed, she knew these two wouldn't give up until they got some kind of answer, "Okay, so maybe it was Kaoru..."

Kaiya grabbed her hands, squeezing them way too hard, "I knew it! I heard from some girls in school that they overheard one of the twins asking you to stay over their house but no one knew if you actually agreed! You have to tell us _everything."_

Dove cringed, she hated how attentive to rumors Kaiya was. She had known there was a crowd of girls watching that day, but she hadn't thought much about it, since her mind had been preoccupied at the time. She knew she had to tell her friends something, but she also knew there was no way she could tell them everything, even if she wanted to - it wasn't her place to tell. "Well, I spent the night at the twin's house on Friday - it's the size of a mansion by the way - we um, watched movies and stuff and that's really it..." Dove bit the inside of her lip, she knew her friends weren't going to buy that story, she was a terrible liar.

Rei might have let her get away with it anyway, but Kaiya had other plans, "Oh come _on!_ There's no way that's all that happened! They're not called the 'little devil' types for nothing! I mean, how did you even end up with Kaoru's shirt in the first place?"

"Um, well..." Dove really didn't know what to say. She couldn't possibly tell them the truth, and she didn't really want to anyway. With how closely Kaiya followed the rumors at school, she really was starting to wonder if she wasn't spreading some of her own. Luckily, her phone buzzed again and she had never been more grateful for Kaoru's tendency to double text when she didn't answer.

 _Kao: What are you doing today?_

 _D: At Koharu Cafe with friends. 20 questions... about you. Help!_

 _Kao: Hikaru is out shopping near there, I'll send him to get you. Hold on._

 _D: Thank you!_

"Okay you _never_ check your phone that much, so now I _know_ something happened!" Kaiya reached for Dove's phone and she pulled her hand back as fast as she could, "What are you trying to hide anyway?" At this point, Kaiya had far surpassed friendly gossip, and Dove was getting anxious from the tone in her voice. Usually Kaiya was always so bubbly and happy, but right now she just seemed aggressive.

"Kai, chill. I'm not _hiding_ anything. It's just... private." Dove gripped her phone hard in her hand, hoping Hikaru would get there soon. She still hadn't gotten his number, so she couldn't text him herself and she doubted he would appreciate being rushed anyway.

"So something _did_ happen then! With Kaoru? Or was it with _both_ of the twins, hmm?" Kaiya continued to press for information and Dove stood up from her chair, clenching her fists.

Luckily Rei finally decided to intervene, "Kaiya, can't you see you're making her uncomfortable? If she doesn't want to say anything, I'm sure she's got a good reason."

Kaiya huffed, rolling her eyes "Fine, you're no fun, either of you." She leaned back into her chair, crossing her arms and Dove made a mental note not to trust Kaiya anymore. She had a feeling she had already divulged too much information to her, and that's how some of the nastier rumors had gotten started in the first place.

Thankfully, she saw a limo pulling up and she breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm... gonna just leave. Oh hey Rei, Honey texted me last night, he said we're all set for the double date with Mori tomorrow, so bring a change of clothes to school. We'll meet up in the courtyard and take Honey's limo to the park." Rei's face lit up and she couldn't help but smile back at her. Rei, at least, had always been nothing but kind to her.

Dove turned to leave but before she could, Kaiya had gotten up and grabbed onto her arm, holding her back. "Seriously?" She glared at a Dove now, her eyes visibly darkening.

"What's your problem, Kai? Let me go." Dove tugged on her arm, trying to free it but Kaiya wouldn't release her. She shot a glance towards the limo, hoping Hikaru would understand she wanted him to come out. She wasn't afraid of Kaiya, not in the slightest. In fact, she was sure she could take her if she had to but she didn't want it to come to that - she really wasn't in the mood to get arrested again.

Hikaru had taken the hint and made his way over to the girls, placing his hands on Dove's shoulders and looking Kaiya directly in the eyes. "Take your hands off my girl, and walk away." He said, his tone so even and calm that it was almost dangerous. When Kaiya hesitated, he reached down and grabbed her wrist gripping it tightly, "Now." Kaiya let out a little yelp and her fingers shot open, releasing Dove's arm. Hikaru let go of her wrist and wrapped his arm around Dove's waist pulling her close to his side. "If you ever lay a finger on her again, we're going to have a serious problem. And before you go spreading rumors making my brother look bad, I'm Hikaru not Kaoru. Come on Dove, we're leaving."

Dove had been rendered speechless and she let Hikaru lead her towards the limo, sparing one last glance over at the equally speechless Kaiya. She knew now that there would indeed be more rumors, considering Kaiya had already figured out there was something going on between her and Kaoru and then Hikaru showed up defending her and referring to her as "his girl". She flushed a deep red as she let that fully sink in. Sure, he had told her that she "belonged to him" the other day, but there was just something so incredibly surreal about him claiming her in front of others. And the way he came to her rescue like that, no questions asked? Well that was just flat out sexy, there really was no better word for it.

"Dove." Hikaru was staring at her with a fierceness in his eyes that she had never seen before. She blinked up at him questioningly from where she was sitting across from him in the limo and he patted his legs, beckoning her to come over. Some of the redness coming back to her cheeks, Dove stood and fully intended to sit down softly, but the limo hit a bump flinging her back into Hikaru's lap. He wasn't phased, and as he wrapped his arms around her she suddenly felt very silly for being so flustered - surely by now she should be used to being around him. Hikaru tugged on her ponytail, forcing her to look up at him and the look on his face was still very serious, "I don't want you hanging out with her anymore."

That was definitely an order, not a suggestion, and though Dove fully intended on avoiding Kaiya now anyway she still felt the need to argue with him. "Why not? It's my choice who I spend time with, not yours." She crossed her arms and looked away, making her look much like an angry child.

Hikaru pulled down on her ponytail again, holding on to it this time and grasping her chin with his other hand, wincing slightly from the pain that shot through his still broken fingers but ignoring it, "Because you're mine and I don't want you to." Dove opened her mouth to argue again but he silenced her by pressing his lips against hers, kissing her more softly than she was used to from him but pulling away far to quickly, "Just trust me." He could easily have just told her that he knew Kaiya was a gossip and only out for herself since Kyoya collected information on all of the Host Club's guests, but he didn't want to - he wanted her not to question him.

Dove blinked up at him, considering. She supposed she could argue with him but really, it wasn't worth the effort. She didn't want to hang out with Kaiya anymore after that anyway and as stubborn as she was, he was worse. But, she also could use this to her advantage. A small smirk spreading across her lips, she nodded, "Okay fine, but one condition." Hikaru raised an eyebrow at her and she tried to turn her head to look away but her movement was still restricted, "Kiss me again. And this time, don't stop." Nothing else needed to be said, and Hikaru smashed his lips against hers, gripping tightly onto her waist with his good hand and didn't pull away until the driver informed them they had arrived at her house.

Moving away reluctantly, Dove was pleased to see that Hikaru's eyes were as filled with desire as she was. He was breathing heavily and took a second to regain his composure before ruffling her hair playfully and giving her what appeared to be a genuine smile for once, "Me and Kaoru will pick you up for school tomorrow. Don't keep us waiting."

* * *

The next day at school was a disaster from start to finish. Hikaru found himself getting more and more irritated as the day went on and it became increasingly hard to keep himself in check. New rumors had indeed been started, by Kaiya no doubt, and it seemed like every single person in school was talking about the twins and Dove. Most of it was just speculation, of course, but it was scary how close to the truth some of it came. Hikaru himself didn't care much what people thought, but he could feel Kaoru's anxiety, and see how uncomfortable Dove was and every time they walked through the hallways he was just that much closer to snapping at someone.

"See? I told you I heard Dove was hooking up with both of the Hitachiin twins!" "They're not even trying to hide it!" "I wonder if I should try asking her out? She must be easy..." Two boys whispering in the morning before classes.

"Does that mean the twins are _together_ too?" "Oooh, I hope they are!" "No, I think they're just both dating the girl with the big hair... what's her name?" "Dove, I think. I saw her with Honey at the arcade the other day too!" "She's so lucky!" A group of Host Club fangirls not even trying to speak quietly in the line behind them during lunch time.

"She's just a _commoner_ it isn't fair!" "Kaoru-kun and Hikaru-kun never even looked at me, and my family owns the biggest record company in Japan!" Two girls in the hallway between fifth and sixth period.

"I'm just going to ask, _someone_ has to!" One brave girl declared to her friend and made her way over to Dove at the end of sixth period and Hikaru tapped Kaoru on the shoulder and they both listened, ready to jump in if necessary. "So is it true? Are you really dating both of the Hitachiin twins? Or are you just, you know... _sleeping_ with them?" The brave (or stupid) girl asked Dove and her jaw dropped at the mere fact of how blunt this girl was.

"I really don't think that's any of your business." Dove stated, remaining as calm as she could but this girl wasn't about to give up just yet.

"Oh come on, you know nobody's going to stop talking either way, so you might as well just own up to it, whatever it is you're doing." The girl raised an eyebrow but Dove didn't have a chance to say anything.

Hikaru tapped the girl on the shoulder and she spun around, eyes widening. He was sure she had expected to simply harass Dove until she got an answer but he wasn't about to let that happen. "I'll give you credit for one thing - at least you had the decency to say something to her face, unlike everyone else." He glanced around the room, glaring at everyone who was still there gathering up their books in turn, "If you all like rumors so much, why don't you go ahead and spread this around. If _anyone_ messes with my girl, or my brother or I hear them whispering about us in the hallway, they're going to have me to deal with. Got it?"

This brave stupid girl was unfazed though, she simply pursed her lips and pointed a finger at Hikaru, "You're really not one to talk though, are you? Weren't you the one asking around about Dove just a few days ago? Or was that your brother? Either way, it's pretty hypocritical if you ask me."

"Well no one asked you!" Hikaru glared daggers at the girl, "Who _are_ you anyway? You know what, I don't care. I'm out of here." He grabbed his school bag and threw the door open so hard that it slammed against the wall with a satisfying cracking noise and stormed out of the classroom.

The girl looked smug, albeit a little surprised and Kaoru shot her a glare in her direction as well along with an apologetic glance at Dove before running out of the classroom and following behind Hikaru. "Hikaru, wait!" He ran to catch up with his brother, who had gotten surprisingly far in such a short amount of time and linked their arms when he reached him. "You okay?"

"What do you think?" Hikaru snapped and immediately regretted it upon seeing the hurt look cross Kaoru's face, "Sorry, just who do these people think they are? Why do they even care so much what we do?"

"Because we're hot, and they're bored?" Kaoru suggested, shrugging "Everyone knows who we are because of Host Club, it's not exactly surprising." He stopped walking, standing in front of Hikaru and placing his hands on his shoulders, "You know, you're not really helping matters when you claim Dove as 'your girl' in front of half a class full of students."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow and a sly grin spread across his lips, "Yeah? What about if I do this?" He grabbed Kaoru's hips and spun him around, pressing him against the wall and leaning in close as if he was going to kiss him.

Kaoru's face turned pink and he tilted his head slightly to the side so their lips weren't so close anymore, "Hikaru, not here!" But Hikaru didn't have a chance to do anything. Someone cleared their throat from behind them in the hallway and Hikaru spun his head around while Kaoru peered over his shoulder to see who it was. Kaoru leaned in close to Hikaru's ear, whispering "Isn't that Dove's friend? The nosey one?"

"I can hear you, you know." Kaiya crossed her arms and eyed the twins, smirking slightly seeing as she had caught them getting pretty close with each other outside of Host Club.

Hikaru turned around fully, releasing Kaoru from where he had him pinned and resting his arm on his shoulder instead, "Come to gather more information to spread around the school? Well get lost, I'm not in the mood."

"No, that was just a bonus." Her smirk widened, "Actually, I have some information for you."

"Yeah? And why would we believe anything you have to say? Come on Kaoru, let's go. We've wasted enough time on her already." Hikaru made to walk away but Kaiya held up her hand.

"Oh, but everything I say is based in fact. I don't spread lies, only truth. It's not my fault if it gets twisted once it's out there. And you're going to want to hear this." Kaiya took a step closer to the twins and leaned in towards them since they were now just staring at her, "Guess where Dove is going right now." Kaiya grinned and raised an eyebrow, looking from one twin to the other.

"We're not playing your games. Spit it out, or leave." Hikaru leaned down to glare at her directly and she took a step back involuntarily.

"Dove's going on a date with Honey." Hikaru's eyes widened and Kaoru glanced over at him nervously, "A double date, to be specific. To the park with Rei and Mori." Kaiya grinned satisfactorily and Kaoru looked at her skeptically, not fully believing her.

"How do we know you're not just lying to cause a problem?" Kaoru asked, poking Kaiya's shoulder so that she would take another step back, he didn't like feeling crowded. Just because they had let Dove into their little world, didn't mean he was comfortable with anyone else being that close.

Kaiya just shrugged, "I heard it straight from Dove yesterday. If you don't believe me, why don't you go to Host Club and see for yourself. I guarantee Honey and Mori won't be there." At that, she walked away, a smug grin on her face leaving the twins behind her stunned.

"Hikaru..." Kaoru glanced over at his twin who was frozen in place, clenching his hands into fists. He placed a hand onto his shoulder and squeezed lightly trying to pull him back from whatever dark place he was currently entering. "We don't know if she was even telling the truth, or how she was twisting it." Hikaru turned his gaze towards Kaoru briefly, a dangerous look in his eyes. Kaoru sighed, just when things had finally been starting to look up, of course something had to happen to mess that up. "Just don't jump to conclusions, Hikaru. Let me at least text Dove first and -"

But Hikaru cut him off before he could finish, "No." He shook his head and grabbed Kaoru's hand, dragging him towards the school's front entrance where their limo would be waiting, completely overlooking the fact that Kyoya would be furious at them for skipping out on Host Club without even saying anything, "We're going to the park."

* * *

Dove was mildly annoyed that both Hikaru and Kaoru had ran out of the classroom, leaving her to deal with the onlookers alone. The minute the twins were gone, all the eyes had turned towards her and she finished packing up her books awkwardly, grateful that at least no one else seemed like they were going to bombard her with questions. At least the twins running out like that saved her from having to explain why she wouldn't need a ride home today, she thought as she headed towards the courtyard to meet up with her friends, making a quick stop at the bathroom first to change. She hadn't told them that she would be going out with Honey, Mori and Rei mostly because she didn't want to deal with Hikaru's reaction. It wasn't a real date after all, but she knew he would take it that way regardless. Of course, she hadn't considered that someone else might tell them, and how much worse that would be than if she had just done it herself.

When she arrived at the courtyard, Rei was already there waiting for her awkwardly a few feet away from Honey and Mori who were both leaned against Honey's limo. She approached Rei first and gave her a big smile - she was wearing the outfit Dove had picked out for her the week before. "You look totally cute." She assured Rei, who was tugging nervously at the bottom of her shirt.

"You, too." Rei offered a small smile in return. Dove had on a cropped black t-shirt that said "good vibes only" in white block lettering and her usual frayed jean shorts and black converse. Casual, and comfortable just like she liked it. Unlike that awful school dress she was forced to wear, which was now haphazardly stuffed into her bag on top of her books.

Honey was waving them over and Dove grabbed onto Rei's arm, tugging her towards the limo. "Come on, you can do this I promise. It's gonna be fine." Rei nodded and let Dove drag her along, but she was still a bundle of nerves as they approached the guys.

"Dove-chan, Rei-chan!" Honey flung his arms around Dove's neck and surprised Rei by throwing his arms around her waist and hugging her tightly as well. He beamed up at them brightly and grabbed each of their hands, ushering them into the limo, Mori following stoically behind. Honey sat between the two girls and Mori sat across from them, Rei was occasionally glancing up at him and then flushing a deep red and looking away any time he looked back at her. Dove rolled her eyes but grinned - Rei's bashfulness was absolutely adorable, she couldn't even remember a time when she was that wholesome herself.

The limo ride was short but quiet, and mildly awkward. Dove was immensely grateful when they finally arrived at the park and was the first to hop out of the limo. It was a large park with a small lake, a woodsy trail for those who wanted to bike ride or take walks, a small playground with swings for the kids and a couple little food stands in the center. Dove had picked it simply because it was casual enough, didn't cost any money, and could easily become romantic with all the cherry blossom trees, the lake and the sunset approaching.

Before Dove even had a chance to make up an excuse for her and Honey to leave Rei and Mori alone, Honey beat her to it. "I need to talk to you about something, Dove-chan!" Honey grabbed Dove's hand and started dragging her towards the ice cream stand, "Let's get ice cream first though! Keep Rei company while we're gone, okay Takashi?" Dove eyes widened and she shrugged at Rei who was shooting her an anxious look. She hadn't exactly planned to leave them alone so early on but she supposed Honey had a good reason for whatever it was he was doing.

Honey was surprisingly quiet and was bouncing back and forth from the tips of his toes to his heels while they waited in line for ice cream. He ordered two cones piled high with at least four different flavors and passed one to Dove, leading her over to a small wooden table near the ice cream stand and sitting on top of it. Dove sat next to him and he draped an arm around her shoulders casually, glancing over towards the lake where Mori had led Rei, though neither of them seemed to be talking. "So..." Dove looked over at Honey, taking a few licks of ice cream and tilting her head to lean it against his, "what did you wanna talk to me about? Or was that just an excuse so those two could be alone?"

Honey shook his head and took a huge bite off his ice cream cone, "No, I feel kinda bad about that actually." Honey shrugged, "You know I've heard what everyone's been saying, a few people even questioned me..." at that Dove visibly cringed and Honey squeezed her shoulder with his hand to reassure her, "I've threatened violence on anyone who says mean things about you, Dove-chan." Dove nearly choked on her ice cream laughing at the thought of little Honey attacking the people in school who were gossiping about her and he grinned but only briefly, "I know you hate texting so I didn't wanna ask over the phone, but can you tell me what's actually going on?"

Dove took a deep breath and bit down on her bottom lip. She wanted to tell Honey, really she did. Honestly, he was probably the first person she had ever fully trusted enough to know that she could probably tell him anything, but was it her place to tell? If she told Honey what was going on, she would have to reveal the twin's secret as well, and she was pretty positive they didn't want anyone knowing about their feelings for each other, even one of their best friends. "I want to, but I'm not sure that I can. It's... complicated." She frowned, unsatisfied with her own answer but at the very least she was being honest.

Honey nodded, and didn't seem even a little bit surprised. As usual, Dove felt like he already knew a lot more than he was letting on. "Did Hika-chan at least say he was sorry?"

"Not exactly..." Dove thought about that for a minute, eating more ice cream to buy herself some time. Had Hikaru ever really apologized for the things he said the other day? She had been so swept away by everything that she wasn't entirely sure. He had written her a little note calling himself a jerk and said something about showingher he was sorry, but he had never actually said those words to her. He had been sticking up for her lately, so she supposed that had to count for something, but when it came down it he never really had apologized to her, she had simply overlooked it. "Well, no. Not really."

Honey frowned for a second and then tossed the rest of his ice cream cone in his mouth, grabbing onto Dove's cheeks and looking at her very seriously, "You need to always remember one thing. There's no one Hikaru will ever love more than Kaoru, and no one Kaoru will ever love more than Hikaru. I didn't say anything sooner 'cause I thought they'd just get bored like they usually do and move on before things got serious. Just don't get taken advantage of."

Dove blinked in surprise, she hadn't expected that at all and she was a bit taken aback by it. Honey was one of Hikaru and Kaoru's best friends, a fellow host, so why would he say this to her didn't that almost betray them in a way? She thought on his words for a minute, too stunned to say anything. They had never mentioned anything to her about love, just that they wouldn't tolerate anyone who would try to come between them. And she hadn't thought to ask because it was way too soon for all of that anyway besides, apart from her mom, she had never told anyone in the entire world that she loved them nor had she ever been in love. Her longest relationship (if it could even be called that) had only lasted for three weeks. She highly doubted that was going to change anytime soon. Sure she _liked_ the twins a lot, and admittedly they made her _feel_ things she'd never felt before now but love? No, she was pretty positive that emotion was just a myth anyway. "Don't worry, Honey-senpai." She gave him a small smile and placed her hand that was free of ice cream on top of one of his, "I'll be okay, I know exactly what I've gotten myself into."

* * *

Kaoru had let Hikaru drag him along to the park to follow Dove and Honey even though he knew it probably wasn't the best idea. If it were up to him, he would have just texted Dove first, at least giving her a chance to explain before assuming the worst. But there was no reasoning with Hikaru when he got like this. The best he could hope for is that by being there with him he could keep him from doing anything too incredibly stupid. "Why are we even here, Hika? Look, nothing is going on, let's just go home." Kaoru pleaded with his twin, tugging on his jacket sleeve as they watched Honey and Dove eat ice cream from behind a tree.

"What do you mean nothing is going on? He's got his arm around her! They're not even with Mori-senpai and that other girl." Hikaru nodded his head in the general direction of where Mori and Rei were doing who knows what - neither of them spoke much. "Besides if there was nothing to hide, she would have told us what she was doing herself!"

"Maybe she didn't say anything because she knew you would react like this." Kaoru pointed out, poking his twin's cheek and twisting his finger back and forth.

Hikaru turned to look at his younger twin, taking his hand and removing it from his cheek and holding it tightly in his grasp, "How are you not bothered by this? They're always _cuddling_ with each other..." He turned his head back to look over at Dove and Honey again and glared, unsure what he could even do about this. He couldn't physically fight Honey even if he wanted to. He was tougher than most guys for sure, but that was one fight he knew he wouldn't win. Besides, Honey was his friend, he didn't want to fight his friend, he just wanted him to get his hands off of his girl.

"Honey cuddles with everyone," Kaoru shrugged and wrapped his arms around Hikaru's waist, hugging him from behind and resting his chin on his shoulder to watch the pair, "They're just eating ice cream it's harmless come on let's - " but he stopped short as he watched Honey place both his hands on Dove's face and lean in close as if he was going to kiss her. Kaoru's jaw dropped and he blinked his eyes a few times to be sure he wasn't imagining things but before he had even been able to make sense of what was happening he felt himself fall forwards slightly as Hikaru escaped his grasp and started to run. "Hika, wait!" Kaoru ran after his twin but he'd gotten a decent head start and was already almost there.

"I knew it!" Hikaru paused once he was a few feet away and pointed an accusatory finger at Dove who just blinked at him confused as Honey dropped his hands. "I knew you liked Honey from the start! Everyone said so but you kept saying it wasn't true, and Kaoru told me to trust you but I was right!" Hikaru dropped his hand and clenched his fists at his side as Kaoru finally caught up and stood next to him, saying nothing. He didn't like the way Hikaru had gone about calling them out, but even he had to admit this didn't look good. Kaoru had a pained look in his eyes, and Hikaru's surprisingly mirrored that look, unable to fully hide the hurt behind the rage.

"This isn't how it looks. If you don't believe me, you'll at least believe Honey right?" Dove glanced back and forth between the twins, somewhat lost in what to do. She really wasn't doing anything with Honey, somehow it always just ended up looking that way, maybe because they were so physically close whenever they hung out? But that's just how Honey was, Dove had never seen a problem with it, and didn't understand why the twins would either.

Hikaru said nothing, clenching his fists so hard that his fingernails dug into the soft skin on the palms of his hands and there was a shooting pain up one of his broken knuckles. But he didn't dare to speak, he didn't trust himself to be able to control his emotions if he opened his mouth. He couldn't even think clearly anymore, he felt betrayed and foolish on top of that, for thinking he could ever trust anyone but Kaoru even for a second. Kaoru unclenched Hikaru's broken hand and held it loosely in his own, not wanting him to harm himself any farther and hoping his touch might calm his angry twin. "It looked like the two of you were about to kiss..." Kaoru volunteered, speaking softly.

"How could you play us like this? You had _no_ right! If you liked Honey you could've just said so and been done with us!" Hikaru finally snapped, smacking the palm of his hand to his forehead and dragging it down his face, frustrated and not fully sure if he was more hurt or angry anymore, "You know I really..." he shook his head, squeezing Kaoru's hand for support, "I don't trust anyone, okay? Like, ever. And I tried to, for you I really tried to and you just..." he trailed off, his composure fully breaking at this point and he dropped Kaoru's hand, and glanced at Dove once briefly, "You know what? I'm not doing this. It's not worth it. I'm done." He turned and started to walk away, Kaoru looking back and forth between Hikaru and Dove, glancing over at Honey about to ask him to just clear this all up but before he could speak Dove had stood up from the table and jumped off of it, running a few steps to stand in between Hikaru and Kaoru.

"Hikaru stop!" She yelled as loud as she could, causing a few passersby to glance over in their direction and surprisingly Hikaru froze in place, "I don't know how many times I have to tell you this but I'll say it again - Honey is just my friend! Probably the best friend I've ever had in my life, but still a _friend._ I like _you_ Hikaru, I've liked you since the second I saw you in class on my first day!" She took a few steps towards Hikaru and hesitantly clutched his hand in hers, lowering her voice, and looking down at the ground a knot forming in her throat as she spoke, "When I first saw you, I swear my heart stopped. I thought, I've never seen such a good-looking guy in my life..." she laughed lightly but there was no humor in her laughter as she walked a few steps back again, bringing Hikaru along with her and grabbing Kaoru's hand in her other still staring at the ground, "And then there was _two_ of you. And you were so similar but so completely different too, and you actually wanted to get to know me it was like a dream. I know it hasn't been very long but I also know I don't want anyone else, I don't know what else I can do to prove that to you."

She finally glanced up, and over at Kaoru who was staring at her wide-eyed when he noticed her face was tear-stained. "Please just believe me, Kaoru." Her voice was basically a whisper at this point and she stared into Kaoru's golden eyes with tears in her own green ones. Kaoru said nothing, he just shifted so that he was standing in front of Dove and brought the hand of hers he was holding around his waist without releasing it and placed his other hand on the back of her head, pulling her in close. She buried her head in his chest and inhaled deeply his scent of coconut and rain and just let the tears fall silently, hating herself for getting so emotional but Hikaru had set her off. She knew logically that she should probably calm down now - Kaoru was holding her, and Hikaru hadn't released her hand so everything was probably fine - but her brain didn't work on logic.

"Hikaru..." At some point, Honey had made his way over to the older twin and was standing in front of him now looking up at him. "I've never kissed Dove but she is my friend, and that's not gonna change. But you're my friend too, and that's why I'm telling you this now. Go easy on her - she's a real person not a toy you can just play with however you like. Otherwise..." Honey glanced over at Dove who was still pressed up against Kaoru, "you might just lose everything."

* * *

After things calmed down, everyone had collectively decided that going home was probably the best idea, since they had unintentionally drawn a small crowd including Mori and Rei who had come over to see what had happened. Dove blamed herself, for yelling so loudly but really people were just nosy. She had apologized to Rei, who told her not to worry about it - she was happy that now at the very least Mori knew who she was and she had gotten to spend some time alone with him. They all piled into Honey's limo, including Hikaru who said that he and Honey needed to talk after they dropped off the others but Dove had decided to go with Kaoru in the Hitachiin's limo. In fact, she hadn't yet let go of Kaoru and clung on to his arm, looking much like a very sad puppy.

They rode in silence until they reached Dove's house, and she frowned, not opening the door to get out and glancing up at Kaoru. "You want me to come inside?" He asked, offering a small smile and she nodded - Kaoru's presence was calming and she didn't want him to leave. "Okay. Come on." He grabbed onto her hand releasing it only briefly so she could unlock the door.

"Aunt Maiko, I'm home! I brought a friend over, I hope that's okay..." Her voice was a little strained but she had mostly regained her composure thankfully - she didn't want her Aunt to know anything had happened.

Maiko liked her head out from the kitchen and her face brightened into a big smile when she spotted Kaoru, "Oh! The Hitachiin boy again, of course that's okay!" She glanced down and noticed their intertwined hands and couldn't help the little gasp that escaped her lips, "Friend, hmm? Are you sure that's all he is?"

Dove turned stoned faced at her Aunt's bluntness, she really had no trouble calling her out. "Um, well..." she quickly dropped Kaoru's hand, but he wasn't having any of that and he put his arm around her waist, pulling her in close to him.

"Actually, Maiko-san I'm Dove's boyfriend. It's very recent, that's why she still gets her words mixed up sometimes." Kaoru said all of this so straight-faced that Dove almost believed him for a second. Her boyfriend? Neither of the twins had ever referred to themselves as that, in fact they had made it a point to tell her they wouldn't be using any labels. But now he was calling himself her boyfriend? She knew it must be for her Aunt's benefit but it sure was confusing. She glanced up at Kaoru, confusion evident on her face but her just smiled at her, so genuinely that wondered if maybe he really did mean it - and immediately mentally slapped herself for that thought.

Maiko's excitement snapped her out of her thoughts as her Aunt threw her arms around Kaoru's neck and then stepped back, observing them. "My niece, dating Yuzuha Hitachiin's son! Oh how exciting!" She smiled at Kaoru and gave a small nod, "You're welcome to stay as long as you like, Dove needs a good influence like you in her life."

Dove groaned, her face flushed red at this point and tugged on the bottom of Kaoru's shirt, "Kaoru, come on." Kaoru waved at Maiko as Dove dragged him up the stairs. When they got to her room, he took a good look around, noting that it was very small (to his standards anyway) and both very empty and messy at the same time. The walls were painted a light shade of blue but were bare, the closet doors were open and instead of being hung up all of her clothes were in a pile on the floor, and the sheets on her bed were all messed up. The bed itself was the only piece of furniture in the room, asides from a TV stand with a small TV on top of it and a giant pillow chair in the corner if that even counted. "Boyfriend, huh?" Dove snapped Kaoru out of his appraisal of her room and was seated on her bed raising an eyebrow at him.

Kaoru walked over to the small bed and sat down next to her, placing his arm around her shoulders and kissing the top of her head, "After everything that happened today, I thought that might cheer you up."

"I thought you said no labels..." Dove mumbled, twisting her hair around in her fingers, "I would much rather not have you messing with my head."

"I'm not messing with you." He hesitated, tilting her head up by her chin to look at him, "Seeing you with Honey made me realize that it would be so much easier for you to be with him. So much less complicated... At the very least you should be able to call me your boyfriend."

Dove frowned, still mildly confused and full of questions, "What about Hikaru? Does this mean he's my boyfriend too, can a girl even _have_ two boyfriends? Will he even be okay with this?"

Kaoru surprised her by laughing and pulled his phone out of his pocket, opening his messages and handing the phone to Dove, "Actually, it was his idea. Well it was probably really Honey's idea, they've been talking this whole time. Who knows what about, but he said he's staying there tonight." Dove glanced at the messages on the phone and, sure enough, there was a message from Hikaru saying; _Screw no labels, we can both be her boyfriend if we want to. Who cares what people think? Btw, staying at Honey's._ She also couldn't help but notice the rest of the conversation and read quickly though she suspected it was meant to be private.

 _Kao: If we're both Dove's boyfriends, what does that make us to each other?_

 _Hika: Don't be ridiculous Kaoru. No one word could ever be enough to describe that. You're everything to me._

 _Kao: I'm going to miss you tonight..._

 _Hika: Stay with Dove, so you're not alone._

 _Kao: You sure you're okay with that?_

 _Hika: Yeah, it's okay, Kao. I love you. Text me in the morning._

 _Kao: Of course. I love you too, Hikaru._

Dove was reminded briefly about what Honey had said earlier about how the twins would never love anyone more than they love each other but she chose not to think about that. She didn't believe in love anyway, right? At any rate, it was a problem for a different day. "I'm happy Hikaru and Honey are spending time together. I hated that I was the cause of them fighting." And speaking of Honey, that reminded her, "Hey, how did you guys even know we were at the park anyway?"

"Oh yeah, about that..." Kaoru brought his hand up to the back of his head, absentmindedly messing up his hair, somewhat embarrassed they had really followed her, "That Kaiya girl isn't really your friend. She told us everything."

Dove's eyes widened. Kaiya had been acting weird the other day, but she really went so far as to try and turn Hikaru and Kaoru against her? It made no sense, she had never done anything to her, "I... I don't understand. Why would she do that?"

Kaoru just shrugged, "She's been a Host Club regular since it started last year. Probably just jealous."

"Yeah well, I'm about to find out at school tomorrow." Dove fumed, twisting her hair around in her fists, getting annoyed. She'd had her fair share of bad experiences with fake friends in the past, but she had been hoping things would be different here.

Kaoru sighed, removing Dove's hands from her hair and hold them, "You really are so similar to Hikaru..." he mused aloud, frowning slightly as he wondered what that meant for him. Would those two always be getting into fights like today, leaving him to pick up the pieces for one or both of the, afterwards? Would they bond over their similarities or end up hating each other? Neither option seemed to play out in Kaoru's favor but he didn't have a chance to think because Dove had gotten up off the bed and was removing her clothes. He placed his hands over his eyes but spread them apart, looking through his fingers anyway, "What are you doing?!"

Dove laughed, tossing her t-shirt at his head, "Relax, I'm just changing, I don't wanna sleep in jeans. Sheesh, it's like you've never seen a girl in a bikini before, it's basically the same thing."

Kaoru dropped his hands, not sure why her brazen attitude surprised him at all. "You sure your Aunt is okay with me staying over?" He asked, unable to stop his eyes from exploring the curves of her body before she pulled the t-shirt he had given to her over her head.

"She said you could stay as long as you want." Dove shrugged, a small smirk forming on her lips as she straddled his waist, sitting on his lap on the bed. She knew she couldn't push Kaoru too far, he had made it pretty clear the other day that he wasn't ready just yet. But she was alone with Kaoru in her room, on her bed and this was way too good of an opportunity to just pass up either. She tangled one of her hands into his soft auburn hair, rested her head on his shoulder and just sat there playing with his hair for a while.

Kaoru closed his eyes, relaxed finally for the first time today and kissed her forehead, "You know it's okay if you kiss me. I know you want to." He said softly, and laid down on the bed, pulling Dove down with him, laying close together because the bed was only twin sized. Dove looked up at him, staring into his gold eyes, mesmerized by them and moved closer to him so that their lips were almost touching but didn't kiss him. She wanted him to kiss her, she wanted it to be his decision. And he did, slowly he closed the gap between them and kissed her gently, almost hesitantly and she thought his lips must be sweeter than all of the candy in the world put together.

* * *

Being woken up in the morning by Kaoru kissing her was like a dream come true for Dove. He had even gotten up early and brought her coffee and cereal from downstairs and she didn't think he could be any sweeter even if he tried. Unfortunately, her good mood didn't last as her morning grogginess wore off and she remembered what Kaiya had done and all the drama that happened because of it. By the time they arrived at school, Dove had worked herself up so much that steam could practically be seen coming out of her ears.

When they met up with Hikaru in the morning, he looked concerned, "Um... is she this angry because of me?" He whispered to Kaoru but Dove heard him anyway and she shook her head, glancing over at him.

"Not you. _Kaiya."_ She said the other girl's name with such malice that even Hikaru cringed. He knew this couldn't be good if she was anything like him, and he was pretty sure that she was, because when he got that angry nothing good ever happened. But they didn't get a chance to find out in the morning, because Dove never found her before class. However, once it was time for lunch there was nothing the twins could do or say to convince Dove to stay with them and she made her way over to Kaiya's table. She stood directly behind her former friend and tapped her on the shoulder, much harder than necessary. "I don't know what I could have possibly done to you, but if you've got a problem with me why don't you stop being a little bitch and going behind my back and just tell me straight up."

Kaiya got up out of her seat and stood directly in front of Dove, towering over her at 5'6" and glaring down at her. "You know what? I _do_ have a problem! Both of the Hitachiin twins just weren't enough for you huh? You had to take Honey too?" She was basically screaming and the entire cafeteria was looking at the two girls now but no one was doing anything to stop them.

Dove practically growled in frustration and clenched her hands into fist, "Oh my god! How many times am I going to have to tell everyone that me and Honey are just friends! I never _took_ him from anyone!'

"Oh right, like anyone believes that! You _knew_ I liked him and you went after him anyway!" Kaiya's face was red with anger at this point and she took a step closer to Dove, her hands balled into fists as well.

Dove just rolled her eyes, glaring up at Kaiya, " _That's_ why you did this? Because you think I hooked up with Honey? That's honestly pretty pathetic. You wouldn't have had a chance with him anyway, there's nothing special about you, you're just like every other obsessed fangirl at this school!"

"Oh yeah? And what's so special about _you_ huh? You're just some trashy American commoner! I bet they wouldn't even like you if it wasn't for your stupid long hair!" At that, Kaiya reached over Dove's head and grabbed onto her ponytail, pulling on it so hard that it forced Dove to turn around. She screamed so loud that everyone who was close to them actually put their hands over their ears and started flinging her body around trying to get free but Kaiya just smirked, keeping a hold on her, "You're not even pretty! Without all this hair, not _one_ of those boys would be interested in you! I should just cut it all off and find out!"

Kaiya had obviously been prepared for this because one of the girls at her table passed her something and the second Dove saw the glint of something metal she blacked out. She was vaguely aware that someone was screaming but didn't register that it was her and she managed to turn herself around, swinging her arms wildly and heard a _crack,_ she had broken Kaiya's nose. She started yelling something about how she should watch her back, but she didn't register any of it. She felt herself be released but was soon being held by someone else so she kept swinging her arms until someone else pinned them down at her sides.

"Dove! Dove, calm down it's okay!" Kaoru was holding Dove's arms down with as much strength as he could while she struggled to get out of his grasp but Honey who had more strength than anyone was holding her from behind. Hikaru, who was no good at calming anyone down out of a rage since he had simply gotten pissed himself the minute he heard Dove scream was currently yelling at Kaiya about how she was no longer allowed to come to Host Club anymore.

"She's gonna cut my hair off!" Dove was still only vaguely aware of what was going on and she felt hot, and still struggled though less enthusiastically now as it seemed she wasn't getting anywhere. "Not again..." she looked up into Kaoru's eyes but wasn't really seeing him, and she looked terrified as she pleaded with him, "Please stop!"

"No one's going to do anything to you, okay? I promise. It's just me, it's Kaoru." She had stopped struggling and he nodded at Honey to let her go and she collapsed into his arms, breathing heavily. "Hey, it's okay. I don't know what happened to you before but me and Hikaru are here for you now. Everything is going to be okay..." He rubbed Dove's back, careful to avoid touching her hair because he wasn't sure if it would set her off again. He had seen Hikaru angry before, but even he had never blacked out like this. Dove hadn't even been in control of herself or aware of what was going on, he knew something must have happened to her in the past but he also knew now wasn't the time to ask. And anyway, he wasn't going to have the chance.

A very angry teacher approached the group of them and pointed at each of them in turn, "Mr. Hitachiin and Mr. Hitachiin. Miss Kobayashi. Mr. Haninozuka. Miss Suzuki, and Miss Onishi. Chairman's office. _Now."_

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Way to end it with a bang right? Lol, honestly ending this sooner than I wanted to yet again, because I haven't posted in way too long and stuff happened that wasn't even supposed to. But no worries, this isn't the end of the drama! Much, much more to come next chapter! And yes, there is a very good reason why Dove reacted the way she did. That will all be explained in a flashback later on I promise. Leave me comments, they make my day! Also, if anyone was wondering, Kaiya and Rei are both second years, and Dove's Aunt Maiko is only 27 years old (she's her mom's younger sister) that's why she's so laid back! And here's some info about Dove, just in case you were curious!

 **Name:** Dove Kobayashi

 **Age:** 15

 **Birthday:** August 5th

 **Zodiac:** Leo

 **Height:** 4'11"

 **Ethnicity:** Half Japanese (mom), half Colombian (dad)

 **Nationality:** American

 **Likes:** dancing, sweets, crop tops, upbeat music, converse, parties, arcade games, skateboarding, cherry blossoms, kissing, superheroes

 **Dislikes:** school, frilly clothes, texting, gossip, judgemental people, bullies, talking about her feelings, high heels, police, cheesy romantic comedies


End file.
